Not the Only One
by Da'SaVage-Tiger
Summary: Rocket Racoon. He never understood who he was, even after Ronan's defeat, or why he was created. All this Raccoon knew was that he was the only one of his kind, and he always would be. However, things change quickly when the mysterious orb falls into the wrong hands once more. And along the way, Rocket discovers chilling pieces of his past, and even finds he is not the only one.
1. Same Stuff every Day

**A/N Hey guys! This is my first official Guardians of the Galaxy Fanfic, based around Rocket Raccoon. I hope you guys enjoy, but just remember, I am not a perfect writer, so please respect my way of writing, but all criticism is welcome, however, please no flames! Enjoy! Don't forget to share your thoughts and review! **

_**Rated T (PG-13) for: Mild suggestive themes, (Not explicit!) intense Sci-Fi violence, (A little more intense then actual GOTG violence.) and rude, dark humor, humor that is strictly not advisable for anyone who's not at least a teen to hear. It is also rated for some language.**_

_** There is some harsh language usage, but nothing that strong, and there is no sexual content of any sort, although the content will be heavily implied to have happened in a few chapters. Nor can you expect for me to add any of the above that won't be in this story in the future.****  
**_

**Special note: As of 2016, yes, I realize some chapters, the ones written in 2014 and early 2015 were not the best. But understand that a rewrite is pointless with how far I've gone, so that probably won't happened. Enjoy it as it is.**

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**Chapter 1**

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Rocket wiped down his modified machine gun thoroughly, making sure that it wasn't jammed or had a speck of dust in it. He wanted it to be perfect when it fired, to make sure it sounded perfect, and looked perfect overall.

Besides, what else was there to do, other than look at the boring stars in space? Peter wouldn't let him lay a finger on his stupid headphones just to listen a little music, and worse yet, he didn't trust Rocket with _any_ entertainment source! Just because of a few, stupid bombs he'd made out of his ship! So that left him with his last, secret source of joy, guns. Guns, guns, guns. That was all Rocket needed to make himself at home.

His weapon had been heavily modified since the battle with Ronan, since the Nova Corps soldiers were generous enough to allow him free access to their armory- to a limit of course. But Rocket didn't care. He loved the new toys he'd received at the armory- even if he was limited to what he could get, because the improvements did make his machine gun a lot better than it's ever been before. Now it had next to everything, aside from the grenade launcher, shocker, and napalm rounds that his precious weapon already had equipped. It was nearly indestructible, because of the new metal he'd coated it in, for one thing, and it even had a bigger clip magazine then before, allowing him to holding up to 120 bullets at once. The weapon even included an auto first aid dispenser, which ejects up to three first aid regenerative shots- which Rocket had never needed to use so far.

And last, but certainly not least, snuggled deep in the core of the precious machine gun, was a small, yet extremely destructible Nano Mini Nuke. All it took was one shot of this device, and an entire skyscraper would be history in no less than a second of the Nuke's impact. In other words, it desinigrated anything and everything it touched on impact. Rocket had always wondered when the right time would be for him to use it, every time his team had reached a tough breaking point in a battle, but against his own willpower- Rocket hesitated using it. That device was only for end game situations, and he knew this.

For Rocket, this weapon was heaven in Space, and he meant that whenever he said it.

After another moment of cleaning, he tossed the rag aside and gave his much favored weapon a look of satisfaction and grinned.

"_Perfect,"_ he thought to himself.

A perfect weapon was all that this Raccoon needed to make his day. It was the very thing that he depended on at all times, every day, every hour, every minute, every-

Suddenly, the door of his room slid open, interrupting the Raccoon's thoughts. Of course, who stood there was none another than the irritating human, Peter Quill. Or Star-Lord, which Rocket rarely ever called him by.

"Hey rodent come on, we have somewhere to be!" Peter snapped, for the 5th time.

Rocket scoffed and glared at him. "Can you stop calling me that word for once- whatever the heck it's supposed to mean? I'm coming!" He said with a roll of his eyes.

As if Peter wasn't already bad enough, Gamora couldn't stop mooning over him! Mooning over the Star-Lord! He spat with disgust at the thought and shivered. At least he didn't have any trouble putting up with Groot. It was as if he was the only one that he didn't have a problem with. The big tree didn't nearly cause half the trouble that the Star-Lord himself caused, and at least he of all people didn't call him names. Sure, he'd called Rocket down at least 5 times now, but that didn't mean he could yell at him to do whatever he wanted, just because they were a team now!

Rocket picked up his machine gun and propped it over his shoulder, before starting out the door. No surprise, Groot was waiting outside for him, and starting walking beside him down the hall. "I am Groot?" he asked deeply.

"Psh, I don't know, you tell me, who knows what Star-Lord wants with anything?" Rocket replied carelessly.

Even after the situation with the orb, and Groot's supposedly death, Rocket found that he wasn't completely dead, much to his relief. The Raccoon had been completely empty without the big- humanoid tree there to be there for him like he'd always been. At the time of Groot's death- Rocket changed. He realized something, something he should have understood a long time ago. Hurt. Pain. The pain of losing someone that he cared about. He'd never cried before, nor had he felt a sense of losing someone before. But after nearly a year with no Groot, no best friend there to guide him and protect his furry hide, a year of pain and depression, he'd been reborn from just a little stick- taken from Groot's forest-like corpse.

And now here he was, fighting at his side again like the good ol' days, good as new. Or at least, close enough. The only difference was that the tree humanoid wasn't as tall as before, but Rocket figured if he gave him a few more months that Groot would be back to normal in no time.

After a short walk down the hall, they met up with Peter and the other guardians at the intersection to the metal hallway. Peter had his arms crossed, which was a gesture that clearly demanded attention, and the other guardians were waiting patiently for him to speak. "Well, what do you want Quill?" Rocket asked viciously the minute he arrived there.

Peter sighed with frustration at his tone of voice and rolled his eyes. "If you would stop talking, then maybe I would tell you," he insisted sharply.

Rocket then became quiet, thought he was reluctant to do so.

"Alright, you guys are probably wondering why I've gathered you here today. And I'll get to that in a moment, but I just want you guys to all promise that you won't have a major freak out over it. I have been thinking about this for a few days- not to mention, doing a little talking with a certain person, and I have finally made my decision on it," Peter explained. He looked over to Gomora. "Only Gomora and I are aware of this new decision," he added.

Rocket immediately took a hasty step forward. "Whoa, whoa there Star-boy," he interrupted.

Quill rolled his eyes in frustration. "Star-Lord!" He corrected him in annoyance.

Rocket scoffed again. "Whatever. I'm not promising anything to you, until I get an answer as to just what you made us come down here for," he insisted with a glare, pointing his paw down to the ground.

Peter returned the gesture briefly, before finally cutting to the chase. "We have a new guardian joining us here today."

This sent uproar of commotion from the other guardians, even Groot and Rocket. "New Guardian? What is this new addition like?" Drax asked deeply. "I am Groot," the old tree said again, his tone telling the team that he was asking a question. Rocket finally ended the commotion.

"Wait, wait just a minute here, shut up both of you!" He insisted loudly, silencing Groot and Drax. Rocket turned his gaze to the Star-Lord. "You're telling me that we're getting a new guardian, yet we all agreed after that little situation with the orb, that we don't accept recruits?" He asked in disbelief, lowering his rifle from his furry back.

"Yeah rodent, we had a change of the damn rules, so what? You gotta problem with a newbie? Because I think you two would get along rather nicely," Peter insisted, with a small, mysterious smile, as if he were hiding something that Rocket didn't know about.

The smile had made Rocket wonder what it was that Peter had in store for him. Did he know that the newbie would torment Rocket? Or did he know that they just wouldn't get along? Either way, it made him all the more suspicious.

"Maybe I do have a problem with a new recruit, why do you care?" Rocket demanded, putting his paws up in protest. "And who is this new guy anyway?" he pressed.

"Not guy," Peter corrected with another smile, as he turned to face the automatic metal doorway behind him. "You can come out now Sam!" He shouted.

Turning back to the Guardians, who crowded near the doorway anxiously, Peter said, "Guys, meet the newest member of the Guardians."

And what Rocket saw next, was nothing close to what he had thought the recruit would be. The recruit was not a strong, tall, maniac like Drax. The recruit was not an enormous tree humanoid like Groot, and it definitely wasn't an irritating human like Peter. Nor was it a cunning assassin like Gomora, with green, slick skin.

The automatic door opened, to reveal a small, furry figure walking through it, with a sniper rifle propped up on its back. It's small but bushy, black, furry tail swished across the ground, almost in a rhythm like movement. A combat vest was wrapped around its chest, and around its back, just like Rocket's did. A spare grenade hung to the lower side of the vest, and so did a spare pack of sniper rounds.

What Rocket was seeing at this moment, was a Raccoon. And he could tell just by looking at it, that the Raccoon was female.


	2. The Newbie

**Hehe, I know you probably all weren't expecting me to post another chapter so early, but sense I only posted this story a few hours ago, and I already have 4 follows and 2 favs, I was flattered, really. So flattered in fact, that I had to post another chapter for all you lovers out there! (Special shout out my first reviewer! Glad you like the story already!) ;) **

**As usual, please enjoy the story, and don't hesitate to share your thoughts and smash that review button!**

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**Chapter 2: The Newbie**

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_Dang, that is one hot beast!_ That was one of the first things that Rocket couldn't help thinking about her. The Raccoon made her way to the group, and obviously, the rest of the guardians were just as surprised as Rocket was that it was yet ANOTHER, raccoon. Rocket couldn't take his eyes off of her, and it was all he could do to stop himself from drooling a little. He had never been the type to be interested in someone at all, but when it came to someone that looked just like him, how could he say no to that?

Peter walked beside the rest of the group, and all except Rocket backed away. "Guys, this is Sam," he introduced, "our new, Guardian of the Galaxy."

Rocket couldn't help chuckling a little at the sound of her name.

Immediately, she turned her furry head in his direction, her icy blue gaze staring into his. "What are you chuckling at?" She snapped right away.

Rocket almost flinched at the sudden tone of her voice, but tried to keep his cool. "Sam? Isn't that a name for a guy?" He said with a small smirk. Of course, being Rocket Raccoon, he couldn't help speaking his mind.

She glared at him briefly, but her expression turned back to normal a moment later. "Hmm, funny. You'd better be careful, swinging smart alek comments like that around me though," she warned, and Rocket couldn't help hiding a chuckle at this. He was starting to like her already.

Peter and Drax both exchanged silent smirks at each other, but they failed to hide them, and Rocket and Sam both turned to them, glaring in unison.

"We'll leave you two alone to get to know each other," Peter decided, as he and the rest of the team walked away.

He gave Rocket a small wink and smirked again, earning a tongue stick out from Rocket in reply. After Rocket was sure that they were gone, he turned his attention back to the new guardian, anxious about what to say next.

"What was that guy's problem?" Sam asked firmly.

Rocket shrugged. "I don't know, you tell me. The guy's practically an idiot!" he replied in a harsh tone of voice, baring his teeth grudgingly. "I have to deal with the kid's whining all day, every day, and let me tell you, it's not fun!"

He was hoping to get some kind of positive response from her, but all she did was nod in confirmation. "So Chuckles, you mind telling me your name, so that way I don't have to keep calling you that?" Sam asked, holding her sniper in her hands casually now.

"Rocket," he told her simply and bluntly. That was when he noticed her sniper rifle she held. "Nice gun by the way," he complimented.

"Thanks," she replied with a simple nod of acknowledgement. "And that's an- interesting name you have their," she pointed out. "Where'd you get that kind of name?"

Rocket felt himself tense up at the question. Of course, he didn't like to talk about where he came from, because of course, it all lead to the one obvious answer: The lab. That's as far as Rocket knew about his past about where he came from, and there was nothing that he could logically point out that could explain why he was a talking raccoon, despite her being one as well. "Birth name," he replied bluntly and swiftly, turning his head away in shame briefly, "What can I say?"

Sam scoffed. "Not much of a talker are you?" She asked with a rude roll of her eyes.

"Maybe I'm not," Rocket replied firmly, starting to feel himself heat up. He was starting to get annoyed and slightly angry at her one-way attitude. Couldn't she see that he liked her? But now, Rocket wasn't so sure about that anymore.

"Maybe you shouldn't keep giving me blunt answers then," she responded, her voice starting to get stern.

"Maybe I don't feel like it," Rocket retorted.

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe I don't think I should!"

"Then maybe I just don't care!" She snapped at once, starting to storm off.

Five sentences ago, Rocket knew that it would end this way. But man, he had to admit, she did have quite a short fuse for being a woman! Not even his fuse was that short!

He couldn't help letting out a smirk and face-palming himself playfully. _Alright Sam, I can play that game with you._

After a moment later, Rocket decided that he should return to Peter and the others. But he knew that Sam wouldn't be happy to see him when he did come out. But it was her that had brought up where he was from in the first place! Being a raccoon herself, didn't she know any better than to ask Rocket about that? Clearly, she had to know the answer, didn't she? There was only place that Rocket knew of that Raccoons come from, and that was a lab. But he wasn't proud of it, being considered a test rat and all now. If they were going to get along at all, she had to understand that at least.

Rocket made his way back through the double metal doorway s, to find the group waiting right outside the doors.

Peter was the first one to notice his presence again, and smiled smugly, as if to tauntingly say, "How'd your first date go?" Rocket could literally read the words right off of his lips.

At that moment, he knew right then and there why Peter had been so hesitant about the subject concerning the recruit: He- well, _she_ is this case, was a Raccoon, just like Rocket. Quill owed him a good explanation for his actions at this point, and fast.

"I see you two bonded pretty well back there," Peter said, the sarcasm echoing clearly in his voice, as he looked back at Sam, whom sat on a small, metal crate.

Rocket glanced in her direction as well, only to find her abruptly break off eye contact with him.

Drax looked over to him, then back at the female raccoon, but didn't speak, keeping his thoughts concealed. Groot, however, leaned in behind Rocket to speak. "I am Groot," he said, smiling lightly.

Rocket frowned at him and made a disgusted shooing motion with his paw in reply. "Ugh, I do not! Groot, how would you even know about that kind of stuff? You're just a big ass tree!" He insisted.

Groot whimpered at the insult a little and turned his head away in hurt.

Quill's expression turned puzzled at Groot's same sentence again, and he glanced back at Rocket as if expecting him to answer. "What'd he say?" He asked curiously.

Rocket turned his head away. "Nothing," he replied bluntly in annoyance.

Star-Lord didn't look convinced, but he shrugged in acknowledgment. "Whatever you say Rocket," he replied in uncertainty. Peter glanced to Sam. "I'll be back to show you to your quarters, but for now, you can take a look around, _but- _just please, don't touch _anything_!" He begged, clearly referring to the time Rocket had used pieces of his ship to create bombs. He hopped Sam wasn't thinking about doing the same thing.

But before Star-Lord could exit the hall, Rocket spoke up. "Hey, hold up Quill!" he said aloud.

Quill sighed with annoyance and turned his head hesitantly back to the Raccoon. "What now, Rocket?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute? Privately, please?" Rocket asked, trying to stop himself from exploding.

Quill found Rocket's request to be odd, but nodded for him to enter. After all, it's not like anything Rocket said was that important, right?

They both entered the cockpit of Peter's ship, and Star-Lord locked the hatch as they both made it inside. The space-like atmosphere blackened the outside of ship, the only source of light being bright stars many miles away.

Star-Lord sat down in the pilot's, main seat, and glanced back to Rocket. "I already know what you're going to say, Rocket, you don't have to go all Kamikaze Raccoon on me, so just let me explain-"

"Wait, Kami what?" Rocket interrupted in confusion.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Whatever, that's not the point, rodent!"

"You're right idiot, that's not the point!" Rocket restated firmly, feeling his voice start to rise. "The point, is that you brought another gray and black stripped- whatever you Humans call us, onto this ship, without telling me! I mean, I'll give you points for bringing a dang hot one, but still, Quill, really? What the hell! You know how I feel about newbies!" Rocket insisted.

"What's so bad about having another Raccoon like you on this ship?" Peter scoffed. "I would've thought you two would get along pretty well, considering your both hotheads."

Rocket's eyebrows rose. "What did you just call me, Star-Boy?" he challenged.

Peter sighed in distress. "IT'S STAR-LORD-"

"Whatever!" Rocket shouted above him. "Listen Quill, you owe me a darn good explanation for why she's here, I mean it!" He demanded. "I mean, come on man! It's bad enough having a crazy maniac and an insane assassin sleeping only a few rooms across from you, but Sam? She's another story."

Peter shook his head in disapproval and sighed again. "Look, Rocket. I brought Sam along, because I wanted you to be able to bond with someone like you," Peter explained.

The gun totting Raccoon looked at him puzzled. "Bond with someone? The heck Quill, I have Groot! I don't need some, hot headed- well, hot headed and attractive babe, following me around, yelling at me every second she gets a chance!" Rocket insisted in disbelief.

Peter chuckled. "Rocket, you only use Groot to hide behind for cover. Besides, he's just a big tree! You need someone like you around, someone that you can actually connect with, you know? And you're judging her too quick rodent. How do you know if she's really that bad? She's practically a mirrored image of you!"

Rocket growled a little and looked him in the eye, feeling incredibly offended. "Don't you dare talk about Groot that way! For your information, Mr. Star-Lord, I do not use him for cover, I use him as help! And second of all, Sam and I are NOTHING, alike! We have next to nothing in common! Use your head Quill, she doesn't belong here," he spat.

"Really?" Peter's voice echoed in amusement. "Because I'm pretty sure you guys seem to have the same personality type and interests….."

Rocket ignored him and looked away.

At this, Quill smiled smugly and chuckled again. "Rocket, I have to say, I'm disappointed in you. I would've thought you'd be interested in someone like you, but you don't seem to be into the idea."

"I'm not," Rocket snapped, "and honestly Peter, working with her is the last thing I'd rather do, I mean that."

Rocket had to admit, he was interested in Sam, considering that she was a Raccoon too, but she just wasn't his type.

Smiling falsely, Peter said, "Well guess what? Lucky day for you, because I am pairing you two together."

Rocket's fur prickled in alarm and his jaw dropped to the floor. "What?!"

"Yep," Peter continued in a cheerful tone, "You two get to work together during any job we do, from this point on. Doesn't that sound great?"

"No."

"Would it be better if I paired you up with Drax?"

"No."

"How about Gamora?"

"Oh, hell to the no!"

"What if I got you a new gun, new and improved? Would you work with her then?" Peter teased him.

"NO!"

"Well guess what? You still get paired up with her."

Rocket groaned with anger and kicked the seat across from him. "I hate you so much…." He muttered under gritted teeth.

Peter sighed. "I know. But just please Rocket, try to work with her at least once? If things don't work out during the first few jobs, I'll consider resigning her," he begged.

Rocket lowered his head in discouragement.

"Come on man, just once? One try, one try Rocket, just one job I swear."

Rocket kept his head lowered a moment. Then, against the odds, his head hesitantly rose again. "_One job?" _He restated seriously.

Peter nodded eagerly. "One job," he confirmed.

The Raccoon cocked in head to the side, and winced almost in a painful manner, as if trying to consider his options. "I'll do it," he blurted out finally.

Star-Lord smiled and patted his head lightly. "That's what I like to hear. Trust me Rocket, I know you're going to like her!" He insisted.

The Raccoon sighed in dismay. "Whatever you say Quill," he said sarcastically, before turning to walk away. _Yeah right, _Rocket thought to himself.

"Wait, hey!"

Rocket glanced back at Peter. "What now?"

"Mine showing Sam to her quarters while you're at it?" Peter offered.

Rocket didn't even try to protest at this point. "Fine, whatever man, can I go now?" He asked miserably. "You've ruined my life enough already…"

"Yeah, go ahead, but don't forget….." Peter nodded, but not before he clicked his tongue and made a gun motion with his finger, putting his thumb down and winking at him in a sly kind of way. "Don't forget to try your luck with her."

Rocket rolled his eyes again and started down the ladder, ignoring what he just saw. "Yeah right," Rocket muttered to himself, as he descended back into the lower deck of the ship, "some day I'm having. Yes sir, some day Rocket Raccoon is having.


	3. Forgiveness

**A/N Hope you enjoy, don't forget to review! :)**

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**Chapter 3**

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Rocket walked down the hallway casually, still stuck in his thoughts and muttering insults about Peter to himself.

After experiencing Groot's death, Rocket had been careful how far he went on the insulting part, and tried his best to care about them, since he now knew that anything could happen to the ones he cared about. Groot wasn't invincible, and neither were the rest of the team.

"Oh, boo, hoo, my wife and child are dead!" Those were the very cold-hearted words that Rocket had dared to say to Drax, back before Groot had ever died.

And it wasn't until Groot had died, that Rocket understood how Drax felt, even if it wasn't a family member that he'd lost- much less two family members. Groot had been the closest thing to family that Rocket had ever had. Now- as much as the Raccoon hated to admit it at times, all five of these insane idiots were family to him too, in a way. They cared about him, they paid for the food and supplies most of the time, and they even watched his back when the going got tough. Even if they did insult each other or get on each others nerves, they still showed that they cared about him. He'd always thought about going back to the good ol' days with Groot whenever Peter or someone else made him angry, but every time Rocket thought about it, he found himself not being able to do it. Those were the points that Rocket realized how important it was to work together. The Guardians had shown him this.

The questions remained however: How would he ever learn to work with Sam? She practically had a bigger temper then he did, and Rocket knew for fact that he had a big one! Not only that, but her little one way attitude? For Rocket, that was just too much for him to deal with. Maybe he had been a little too harsh about that when he had first talked to her, but he still found himself wondering if she would stay that way forever. Hot headed, but attractive. What a Wild Card.

_I'll figure it out. _Rocket decided. After all, how hard could it be to work with someone that was just like him?

Rocket approached the doorway ahead of him, and stopped right before it could automatically open. He took a deep breath, and licked his right paw a little, before smoothing the front of his forehead with it, looking around to make sure no one saw him doing that. _Come on Rocket, you got this man._ He thought determinedly, before stepping through the door.

This time, he didn't see anyone inside the hallway intersection, except for Groot, and Sam, much to his satisfaction.

"I am Groot," Groot said to Sam with a smile.

"Look, I told you already you big, dumb, stupid tree, I already heard you three sentences ago! I am Groot, I am Groot, I know already!" Sam replied in a frustrated tone.

"I am Groot!" Groot said with a frown, while scratching his bark-like head in wonder, as if not understanding why she couldn't figure out what he was saying.

Sam sighed a little and closed her blue eyes, clearly trying to cool herself down. "Okay, is there, ANYTHING else you can say other than, "I am Groot?" She asked in annoyance.

Groot smiled and nodded in confirmation. "I am Groot."

The female Raccoon sighed with frustration and rolled her eyes. "Great, nice talking to you too partner… idiot….." she muttered to herself quietly.

Rocket immediately approached her after their "charming" conversation.

"Hey! Don't talk to Groot that way! He is not stupid, and he is not dumb for your information!" Rocket told her firmly, making Sam scowl at him.

"Oh really?" Sam said sarcastically, "then why does your- pet, keep saying, "I am Groot, over and over again?"

Rocket rolled his eyes and facepalmed. Why did every single person in the entire galaxy always ask him that question whenever Groot talked?

"Because that's what his vocabulary is limited to, genius," Rocket retorted, "I. Am. Groot. Those three key words. And he is not my pet, he's my best pal! So don't be talking about my friend that way, I mean it," Rocket finished firmly.

Sam scoffed in offense and shook her head. "Wow, why am I not surprised that you of all people are best friends with a tree?"

Groot frowned. "I am Groot!" he protested firmly, crossing his tree limbs across his chest.

"Yeah, we got that topic covered about 20 sentences ago Einstein," Sam remarked sarcastically.

Rocket glared at her, but then his expression suddenly turned grave as he met Groot's gaze. "Sorry Groot, she's right on that one man," he admitted.

Sam propped her sniper on her shoulder like Rocket had done with his rifle.

"Alright, enough of that. I highly doubt you're here to annoy and tick me off, so just cut to the chase. What did you want Chuckles?" Sam asked.

Rocket fake chuckled again, just to live up to his new nickname of course.

"I was gonna show you where your room was," he replied, sounding quieter this time.

Sam rose an eyebrow in suspicion, as if expecting him to joke or insult her or something. But she just shrugged in reply, after not hearing him speak. "Well? Are you going to show me to that room, or are we going to just sit around here arguing?" she urged.

Rocket gestured for her to follow him, awkwardly not making eye contact with her for unknown reasons.

They walked down the metal hallway, shortly after passing by Peter's little hangout room, where his radio was still playing the Capital's music and news. And where Peter kept his….. secret little wrapped gift, which Rocket had yet to find out what it was.

Sam glanced at the room as they walked by. "Does he always listen to that same, boring station?" she asked in annoyance.

Rocket scoffed in agreement at her comment and nodded. "Yep, that's pretty much all that kid listens to every day when we're on the job, traveling around places and doing stuff," he remarked, "and just to give you a heads up, Peter doesn't want anyone touching his stuff in that fileing cabinet in there. Don't ask me why though, I don't know what's going on in that kid's mind," Rocket quickly added.

They turned in another intersection in the small ship, which led to three different directions, where Rocket halted them both before they could walk ahead to the Living Quarters.

"This intersection leads to several small parts of the ship, which are pretty easy to find, unless you're a complete idiot," Rocket continued. He looked to the left doorway, which lied just a few feet away from him. "This is the Generator room's door. You don't need to come in here at all, unless you somehow plan to fix the generator or engines themselves, which is technically either my job, or Quill's," Rocket stated firmly, "so unless your good with that electronic stuff, I'd say that you probably want to stay out of there until Quill says otherwise.

Sam nodded simply and bit her lip a little. "What about that door over there?" she gestured to the door on the right.

"That leads to the storage room," Rocket explained calmly, "that's just where we store crap that we really don't need, or just want to use for later. Quill would rather we not go messing around through it, but I could care less what Star-Boy has to say, so if you want to grab something from it, go on ahead," he urged.

Sam nodded again.

Rocket looked ahead at the doorway straight across from him, and assured her forward. "And this place…." The Automatic doorway opened, to reveal a small, square-like room. "Is the best place of all," Rocket said, "the Living Quarters. Or, as I like to call it, Home, sweat home." He chuckled again, this time, for real, and Sam nodded in reply, hiding what Rocket assumed to be a smile.

"So, where's my room at?" Sam asked in curiosity, her expression suddenly serious again.

Rocket looked around, until his eyes met with the room in the far right corner of the Living Quarters. "Right there," he pointed with his paw.

Sam nodded in reply again, and this time, she just barley meet Rocket's eyes before he'd broken off visual contact. "So where's your room at, Mr. Chuckles?" she asked, making them both laugh nervously.

Rocket sighed in amusement and looked over his shoulder. "Right over there. The room closest to the door to be exact. To be honest, it's the best place I've ever been to in my life," he added, making Sam smile and chuckle a little. He found himself doing the same, much to his surprise, and just like that, their eyes finally met.

He hadn't even realized until now, that he hadn't talked firmly or angrily to anyone during that whole walk with Sam. He hadn't spoken with annoyance, anger, or resent, and he didn't even have any angered thoughts about anyone. It was as if whenever he was with Sam, he had no reason to be angry anymore, despite their quarrels in the past. His felt a warm, comforting feeling wash over him, just by looking at her, and at that moment, the gun totting Raccoon didn't feel any anger towards her anymore. Rocket felt an uneasy feeling suddenly tug at his stomach, something he hadn't feel before. Regret. What he'd said at the beginning to Sam wasn't right, and against all odds, Rocket Raccoon actually felt the need to apologize for once.

Rocket forced himself to try and smile a little. "Hey… uh, look, I suck at this kind of thing, so I'll just say it. I'm sorry about what I said before. You know about going on the offense about where I came from. I was acting like a complete dumbass, and I get that now. So… I hope were cool now," Rocket finished, shifting his feet awkwardly, and smiling weakly.

Sam smiled a little, much to his satisfaction, and nodded. "It's alright, I get it. I know what it's like to be- you know, born from somewhere you didn't want to come from. So for what it's worth, I'm sorry too, Chu- I mean Rocket," she added, making them both smirk.

Rocket smiled too, and nodded. "Thanks."

They both stayed awkwardly silent, until one of them could finally find the words to speak.

"So…. see you tomorrow then I guess?" Rocket said.

"I guess," Sam replied in a matter of fact type of way, letting her sniper rest freely again, as she started to walk away. "See you around, Rocket."

As she disappeared into the doorway of her room, Rocket smiled with satisfaction and disappeared into his own.

Not only had he achieved his goal, but he'd also gotten on Sam's good side, easier then he'd thought it would have taken. And maybe…. Just maybe, he did like her more than regularly "liking someone."

Because tonight, Rocket Raccoon was in love.

* * *

**The Next Day Later...**

* * *

"Rocket, hey Rocket, wake up, quick! Rocket, hey, come on Chuckles!"

Rocket shot up from his sleep, from the safety of his covers, to find Sam standing at the foot of his bed, all geared up for combat. He rubbed his eyes briefly and yawned, before realizing three alarming things:

He had no shirt on, he was wearing Raccoon-sized boxers, and worse yet, the opposite gender, was standing right at the foot of his bed.

He yelped with alarm and cussed under his breath, sinking back underneath the sheets briefly.

"The hell Sam! Do you ever knock before you go barging into someone's room, when they are wearing next to no clothes?" Rocket covered his mouth at the last part in embarrassment, not meaning to have said that last bit.

Sam just stared at him blankly and widened her eyelashes a little in surprise. "You're- not wearing any clothes?" she looked as if she were on the verge of bursting out laughing.

Rocket facepalmed in dismay. "NO! I didn't say that, I said- I'm only wearing- argh!- forget it, what did you want this early in the day, that is so important to interrupt my beauty sleep?" He rubbed his eyes again, and grabbed his combat vest from under his human-sized mattress.

Sam's expression changed back to normal at this. "It's dead important Rocket, something's come up, and Quill needs all 6 of us at the Cockpit immediately," she informed him.

"Another job?" Rocket asked firmly.

"No," Sam replied, "something about an orb being stolen at the Capital-"

"On my way," Rocket interrupted, "just give me a second, and I'll be right up."

Indeed, the job was quite important. More important and serious then Sam could have ever imagined, for the orb that Roanan the Accusar once wanted, had been stolen once again.


	4. Xandar down

**A/N Alright. I just wanted to say that I am happy that everyone is enjoying the story so much, and I am greatly overjoyed by the people who have reviewed in the first three days of the story's plublishing, and all of the favs and follows I already have. Thank you all so much, and please enjoy the rest of the story! As always, R&amp;R, and enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Xandar Down**

* * *

Blood rushed to the soldier's throat. The throbbing pain of the gloved hand gripping him squeezed his throat even harder, making him wheeze painfully.

The pain screamed of another Nova Corps Soldier being executed rang in his ears, as the sound of a Laser Pistol made him flinch with fear. Other, different looking soldiers, wearing black armor and wielding Laser Rifles and Bullet weapons crowded around their leader patiently. Two other Nova Corp men were knelt in captivity, binded with metal Auto-Cuffs, and their heads bleeding from countless weapon bashes. Faint gunfire echoed down the glass-like hallways, followed by the sound of Laser Rifles and pained screams.

The man holding him squeezed the soldier's throat even tighter with anger. "I won't ask you again, where is the orb?" He demanded, his voice sounding even more intimidating and menacing with the mask that he wore.

The man coughed and spat blood in his face. "You'll never find it, Assassin… You're a disgrace to Xandar- and you will never rule it- you- will fall- just like Ronan did," he wheezed angrily.

At that, the Assassin leader cracked his head to the side viciously, breaking his neck in one sudden snap, then tossed him right in front of the two remaining Nova Corp Soldiers.

"Well shall about that, foolish Xandarian," he said smugly. The man turned his head to his helpless opponents on the ground.

"We don't know where the orb is, we swear!" One of the men cried out. "Don't ki-"

"Kill them," the Assassin ordered with a wave of his hand.

"No, wait please, NO-!"

One shot of a Laser Pistol silenced his pained pleas, followed by a second shot, which ended his partner just as fast.

The Assassin leader looked over to his men, then started walking down the hall. "Search every last corner and square inch of this base. I want that orb found, NOW!" He roared. Looking back down at his deceased opponents, he added, "We are expecting special…. Visitors, in the next few hours shortly."

* * *

The Cockpit of Peter's ship opened to a stop, and he and his allies leapt out to an alarming scene.

Nova Corp soldiers were running left and right, trying to contain stunned and panicked citizens, while other armed ones rushed ahead towards the Main Compound. Medical ships were propped at landing pads- and swarms of doctors were presently trying to aid wounded and injured soldiers near them. A few occupied stretcher squads raced by the Guardians, nosily making their way through the streets. One soldier helped carry his wounded partner- which had suffered what looked to be a laser injury, over to the medical ship. Lines of soldiers helped form a blockade around the Main Compound, up ahead on the road. The Compound, which had protected and contained the orb.

Star-Lord's expression turned grave at this. "Uh…... this isn't looking too good right now guys."

Gamora glanced at him. "You think?" she asked, as if Peter had just stated the obvious.

They made their way up the road, only to be immediately approached by a Xandarian soldier. He wore the same combat gear that most Nova Crop soldiers wore, with the same, average helmet and sidearm. The only difference that Peter could see in him out of the rest of the soldiers, was that he had a Captain's ranking badge on his left shoulder, and a blue emblem of the Capital. The Captain clutched a High-Powered Pistol in his left hand, while his right hand held on to his hip, which throbbed painfully from some kind of bloody injury- Peter didn't want to know what it was.

"Y- you! You're Mr. Quill, is that right? Leader of the Guardians of the Gal-"

"Yes sir," Peter interrupted hastily, "but call me Star-Lord if you want. What happened here Captain?"

The Captain winced painfully, and gestured for them with a wave of his weapon hand to follow him.  
"An attack happened. We don't know how they managed to get into the Compound so fast, and our details are limited at the moment as to what just happened here," he explained.

"I heard the orb was stolen, is that true?" Quill asked seriously, before he could continue talking.

The Captain didn't shake his head, but nodded slightly. "We don't know for sure, but we think so," he replied bluntly, coughing roughly after responding. "All I know, is that some genius managed to avoid our scanners and sensory array equipment- the Capital's equipment, smuggle about two hundred and fifty soldiers into our Compound, and E.M.P our emergency lighting and automatic doors, before we could even react to what was happening. That is the kind of opponent that we are facing right now," he finished.

"So you are saying," Gomora started, "that because of these conditions, your men are unable to proceed in the counterattack, is that correct?"

"Yes ma'am," the Captain replied, sounding slightly impressed, "any men that we do attempt to send in to take the Compound back either come back heavily injured…." He looked Star-Lord dead in the eye. "Or they don't come back at all."

Peter scratched his head a moment, and his face looked solemn with seriousness this time. Of course, when it came to the orb that could destroy the entire Galaxy, the orb that could destroy Earth, he had to listen to every detail.

"Did Denarian Dey or the other staff make it out alive?" Peter asked.

Drax scoffed behind him. "The man who wouldn't let me rip out people's spines….."

"Or let me take things that I want more than the person that owns them….." Rocket added quietly, making Gamora nudge him sharply in the side.

"Luckily, our Leader was not present in the Compound at the time of the attack, so yes, a few staff did survive. Unfortunately, we lost contact with Dey's heartbeat beacon, just a half an hour ago, so he chances of being alive are slim I am afraid. As for the remaining soldiers and staff inside the compound, only 8 heart beat beacons are still active. The enemy did seem to have hostages before, but their beacons have gone dark sense then," the Captain explained, as they reached the entrance to the Compound.

He turned back around to face Peter briefly, and stared dead on at him. "If you can bring those men back alive, I will see to it that you are not only rewarded for restoring the Compound- but also for bringing the eight of them back to their families breathing," he said firmly. "Can I trust you all to take that Compound back for us, more importantly?"

At that, Peter stepped forward, and drew one of his laser pistols. He turned on his metal mask, and looked the man in the eye. The other Guardians from behind him stepped up and stood at his sides.

"Buddy, we're the Guardians of the Galaxy. You can more than count on us to take out two hundred and fifty soldiers, trust me when I say that."

However, Rocket had to interrupt this touching scene with another one of his own.

"Whoa, wait a minute here! What kind of reward are we talking about exactly? You do realize that you're asking us to risk, _our booties, _for eight guys, and mow through two hundred and fifty other bad guys. So what's the reward gonna be?" He asked aloud.

Peter glared at him again, as if to say, "Are you kidding me?"

The Captain sighed in annoyance, and clear frustration and shook his head in disapproval. "You guys are still just a bunch of mercenaries at heart aren't you?" he remarked, as a hint of amusement appeared in his voice, gazing down at Rocket. "Fine then. All I can say is that either units or a free armory choice will be the reward."

Rocket puts his hands together in satisfaction. "We'll take the free ar-"

Peter covered his mouth with his free gloved hand, muffling the words. Sam smirked at this from behind.

"What he meet to say, was that no reward will be necessary," Peter said with his best smile. Rocket tried his best to protest and talk, but Peter wouldn't take his hand off his mouth.

"Will do then," The Captain said with a nod of farewell, "keep safe, and good luck to you Star-Lord!" And with that, he raced back down the road towards the line of troops at the entrance to the Compound.

Once he was gone, Rocket finally managed to escape his grip.

"What the heck Quill?!" he asked angrily, rubbing his grabbed mouth with his little paw. "We could've gotten something out of rescuing those guys, but no. Instead, you decide to be the perfect little goody two shoes that you've always wanted to be, and take, NO reward!" he protested. "Not a damn thing!"

"Rocket, those men risked their lives to defend this place man!" Peter retorted, "and what we are doing right now, is something a heck of a lot more important than getting a reward! This isn't a bounty hunt, rodent! I mean, if it didn't have to do with the orb, maybe I would take a reward, but this is serious junk!"

"Serious?" Rocket scoffed. "You've never taken anything seriously, let alone, taken a job without a reward! So don't you dare try to talk to me about-"

"Guys!" Gamora protested. "Is this really the appropriate time to be arguing? The orb is at risk of being taken- not to mention the fact that the whole Galaxy is at risk, and yet you two absurd fools, are acting like a couple of preposterous idiots," She said firmly.

Rocket opened his mouth to talk, but Sam nudged him from behind and shook her head, clearly trying to say that it isn't worth it. Peter looked ready to argue more, but he simply sighed with frustration. "We are not done with this conversation," Peter stated to Rocket firmly, before walking off towards the building.

Rocket scoffed arrogantly as Star-Lord walked away. "Idiot," he growled through gritted teeth, before hesitantly following him again.

The Guardians all stopped at the entrance to the Compound, and stood together a moment later. Rocket loaded up his Machine Gun, and Sam drew her Sniper Rifle, while Drax and Gamora readied themselves for battle as well. Instead of just using a sword like she normally did, Gamora also used a hold out Laser Pistol, just in case ranged weapons were ever to be a necessity. Peter deployed his battle mask, and placed his orange headphones onto his head. But right before his finger could reach the "play" button on the tape in his secure pocket, Drax spoke up.

"So…. I wonder Quill. Do you happen to have plan?"

Peter smiled from inside his mask, and replied, "I'm glad you asked that question Drax. Because I do have a plan."

At this, Rocket facepalmed in dismay. "Oh, no…. not one of his plans again."

"What percentage of that plan do you happen to have, Star-Lord?" Drax asked with a small, amused grin, clearly recalling the last time he'd asked that.

"Twelve percent hopefully?" Rocket asked in annoyance.

Peter shook his head, and smiled again. "Actually, make that ninety-nine percent of a plan."

* * *

"Commander, we have secured the Main Entrance as ordered. No one has currently tried to access this area in the past few hours," a soldier said.

Pause.

"Yeah, we're pretty sure we can hold this position, do not fear Commander."

Another Pause.

"Yes sir, right away sir-"

Suddenly, two twin laser bolts penetrated his chest, making him fall flat on his back, right as the skylight above him shattered. The glass showered over the remaining group of soldiers, who struggled to aim their weapons without risking the glass hitting their visor. And out of the air, came Star-Lord. He landed on the stairwell feet first in a crouching position, and shot down the three soldiers that stood in his path with both of his Laser Pistols. "Any time now Rocket!" Peter shouted through his comlink, before going back to combat with the other soldiers.

At this, the southern wall of the first floor burst into flames, sending debris and cables that had once held the wall together into the air. Soldiers that were near the wall hit the ground with a start, and tried to get up from the wreckage. They readied their weapons in alarm, only to find an enormous, eight foot tall tree appear out of the smoke. The five of them staggered back in fear, as the menacing behemoth stomped forward, with an armed Raccoon atop of his head.

Then, the tree uttered three simple words that would seal their fate.

"I. AM. GROOT!"

The men immediately tried to step back in attempt to dodge the tree's menacing gesture, but Groot bellowed forward and smacked them all to the side with one blow of his root-like arm, killing all five of them.

"Yeah Groot, you teach those suckers to mess with us!" Rocket laughed menacingly, as he readied his precious Machine Gun. "And I call myself a professional….."

A heavily armed soldier and his partner raced outside to meet their new opponents, only to be sniped in the head by an unknown opponent. His partner looked around in alarm for a moment, trying to locate the unseen threat, but he meet the same fate as his ally, and two bullets penetrated his chest, putting him on the ground.

Rocket grinned at this and tuned his com a little. "Dang girl, you shoot better than I ever would in a million years!" he praised, "thanks for the assist."

"Don't mention it, Chuckles," was the sly reply he earned, just as another soldier had been sniped.

Suddenly, a crowd of enemy soldiers burst out from the hallway across from him. Once they had noticed their two opponents, they all took cover behind benches, plants, advertisement stands, anything that would keep them safe from bullets. Rocket counted about twenty of them.

"Rocket, that looks like a lot of guys to deal with," Sam remarked through his comlink, "Want me to give you a hand there?"

Rocket smirked and loaded a fresh clip into his machine gun, and cocked back the trigger. "No thanks, I got this one." He pointed his rifle barrel at the group of them, and pulled the trigger.

Chaos immediately overcame the many soldiers that had taken cover, and a never ending shower of napalm rounds started to hit different obstacles and their skin. The minute the bullets had come in contact with their armor, they not only penetrated the soldiers' only source of bodily protection, but they burned them up from the inside. Fire erupted up from where the bullets had hit, and the soldiers that had been hit screamed in panic, while desperately trying to find a way to put out the fire. But every time they had managed to snuffle the flame, it just kept coming back. Those that were lucky enough to not have been hit struggled to return fire, only to have their luck turned against them, as a stray round came in contact with their armor. And even if the fire didn't kill them first, the bullets did.

Rocket laughed menacingly at the soldiers that were on fire, while continuing to shoot none stop, not even done with his first clip of ammunition yet.

Groot smacked aside two soldiers that tried to run away, and kicked another that tried to shoot Rocket from behind. Another fell to the ground and put his hands up in submission, but Groot simply stomped on him, ignoring his plea of surrender.

"Dance you idiots, DANCE! Hahahahahaha!" Rocket shouted enjoyably, while continually to unload on the already inflamed soldiers.

Those who'd been hit long ago, fell to the ground- not being able to take the heat damage done to their system already, and died.

Quill ran alongside the Stairwell towards more small pockets of resistance, which had just turned its attention to Groot. He slid towards them at the last second, while shooting off his Laser Pistols numerous times, dropping most of the soldiers that had once stood, until he'd reached he's stopping point. He leaped up using his feet, right as the double doors beside him had opened, to reveal three more soldiers tumbling out. Quill smacked one of them in the face with a door, and ducked under another's attempt at shooting him with a laser rifle, before he shooting him twice in the chest with one of his Laser Pistols. The third didn't nearly react as fast as his two partners had, and by the time he'd turned back around, Peter had roundhouse kicked him into the wall, right as the first soldier has recovered from the door smack. The third soldier readied his Laser Rifle frantically, scrambling for the trigger, and fired, only to have accidently shot his partner, who had just stood up in front of Star-Lord. Peter tossed the corpse aside, and shot the last one dead on.

Right as he had done this, however, one last soldier emerged from the doorway behind him, with his weapon readied in intimidation.

"Drop em!" He barked.

Peter turned around in alarm and surprise and held his Laser Pistols up in submission.

"Sure buddy, whatever you say, just give me a sec…." Peter sang.

He dropped his Laser Pistols, but at the last second, he drew a third Pistol and ended the soldier's life before he could properly react. After he was done with this, Peter put his third Pistol back into his Ravager Coat pocket, and put his hands into the air innocently. "Well? You said to drop the Pistols didn't you?" He chuckled.

Suddenly, the sound of a soldier's muffled scream turned his attention to behind him, to find that Gomora had slit his throat. Drax stood beside her, dispatching a soldier with his bare hands, before tossing him off the railing of the stairwell.

"Are you doing well Star-Lord?" Gomora asked aloud.

Peter shot a soldier behind her. "Just fine thanks," he replied smugly, "we should really be regrouping with Groot and Rocket by now!" he added.

Gomora chucked a knife into a soldier stepping through the double doors. "Sounds like a fine plan! But we must be swift. You heard what the Captain said, there are many opponents in this structure!" she reminded him.

Peter leaped off the railing and landed behind a group of armed soldiers, and ran straight at them, shooting them down with his duel Laser Pistols. One ducked under his string of laser bolts, and Peter jumped towards him to intercept. But his attempt ended in failure, when a sudden electrical shock hit Star-Lord. Pain coursed through his body, as Peter started to realize that the soldier had just electrocuted him with his glove! The painful energy spread throughout his body, making Peter crumple to the ground slowly, as he yelled out in pain. The soldier finally released him from his electrical grip. Peter tried to get up, but the paralyzing feel of the focused electricity had rendered him completely immobilized, and his bones failed to lift him up enough to defend himself. The soldier picked back up his rifle and readied it on Star-Lord.

But before he could fire, Drax grabbed the soldier from behind, and tossed him against the wall as hard as he could, knocking him out.

Peter finally managed to sit up with a painful grunt, though it made his vision a little blurry in doing so. Gomora appeared from the side and helped him up, while Drax supported him from the right.

"Peter! Are you alright?" Gomora asked him firmly.

Quill's vision finally cleared out, and he shook out his limbs a little, trying to rid them of the remaining electrical feel. "Y- yeah, just got a little carried away there," he stuttered, "I'm fine. Where's Rocket and Groot?"

"Right here boss!" A voice shouted from behind him.

Peter, Gamora, and Drax all turned their attention to Rocket and Groot. Groot had pinned down a soldier on the ground, who had his hands up in submission.

"Groot's got a live one here! What should we do with him, Quill?" Rocket asked.

Peter glanced down at him briefly, and crouched down next to him, making the soldier scoot away from I'm in alarm. Peter turned off his battle mask, then started the interrogation.

"Alright, listen here Ninja Turtle," Peter started firmly, "I don't know who sent you, or what you guys want with this orb, but you're going to answer my questions, whether you like it or not! Now tell me, where are the hostages?" Peter asked seriously.

"Nayia, co gola!" The soldier spat at him. Even though his expression was unreadable through the helmet he wore, his tone sounded pretty obvious to Peter. Just not his speech.

"Say what?" Peter asked in confusion, his eyebrows narrowed in puzzlement. He looked over to Rocket. "Did you catch any of that?" he asked the Raccoon.

Rocket shook his head. "Nah, sorry Quill. All I heard was: Oga, Boga, lugo pugi, I don't want to be a captive!" he said sarcastically.

"What about you Gomora?" Peter asked, turning to the green-skinned assassin. "Do you know what the heck this guy's saying?"

Gomora frowned and looked the captive soldier in the eye, and said something in another native language Peter didn't recognize.

And to his astonishment, the soldier replied in a complete sentence.

Gomora looked over back at Peter, her eyebrows widened in alarm.

Rocket crossed his arms. "Well?" he asked impatiently, "what'd the idiot say?"

"He said….." Gomora looked down at the other bodies of the black armored soldiers, then at their weapons, and at the helmets they wore. Then she looked Star-Lord in the eye. "Peter, don't you recognize these men? They're Ronan's!"

The name sent chills up Peter's spine. Ronan The Accusar? No, it couldn't be him, could it? He died back at that crash site, and every one of the Guardians saw it with their own eyes! But if he wasn't alive, then why were his own Kree soldiers still going after the orb?

"Ronan?" Peter asked in disbelief, "no way, he's dead! You saw it with your own eyes Gomora, he died, right in front of your eyes!"

"I know that, I know," Gomora replied, "I never said it was him, it could be someone else directing them other than Ronan."

"Who?" Rocket demanded suddenly. "Thanos?"

Gomora shook her head. "It couldn't be him. He is not foolish enough to try and take the orb, he knows that we will take it back somehow. So at this point, I am not sure."

She suddenly turned her head back to the Captive soldier, and demanded something in her native language. He spat back something that didn't sound very nice to Peter, and she threatened him with a knife to the throat, responding to him in another, "charming" tone of voice. They had another small, brief conversation, before Gomora had finished and returned her attention back to Star-Lord.

"He won't tell us who exactly he works for, but he does know where the hostages are. Six of them are being held in the Armory, and the other two are being held at the top floor of the Compound, which is where the last bulk of their force are being held at," Gomora explained. Glancing back to the hostage she added, "what should we do with this fool?"

Peter looked away carelessly. "Get Groot to finish him, we can't have any more of them coming to back-stab us later while we're on the job," he ordered.

Groot grabbed the soldier by the head at this, and a panicked scream erupted from the soldier, before Groot tossed him across the Compound's first floor at an alarmingly fast speed, causing a loud slam to erupt on impact.

"Alright guys, come on, let's move!" Peter urged them, "we got some hostages to rescue! Sam, get down here, your spotting job is done here!"

"On it boss!"

A few minutes passed, and Sam had regrouped with them by then.

"Quite a little hothead, aren't you?" Sam remarked to Rocket smugly.

Rocket managed a small smile. "And you aren't?" he retorted playfully.

Their eyes met again, another one of those moments where Rocket forgot all about his battle rage that he'd just experienced a few minutes ago. He felt a small amount of warmness wash over him again, and Sam smiled a little.

"What's with the stare?" she asked nervously.

Rocket shook himself back to normal. "Whoa, my bad! Didn't mean to- uh….. do that, sorry!" he apologized swiftly. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but Rocket made himself walk away forcefully. In his mind, he did feel a little discouraged at this. _So she's not interested in me the way in the same way I am. That's cool, I can wait. She'll like me eventually….. just like Gomora did with Peter._

That much, Rocket knew.


	5. The Assassin: Part I

**Chapter 5: The Assassin- Part I**

* * *

"Man, is it dark in here!" Rocket complained, "that guy wasn't lying when he said even the emergency lighting was out! "

Peter Quill looked around the dark halls cautiously as they walked, and sighed. "Yeah, it is. But Groot's little light trick should give us enough to be able to see in front of us at least," he commented.

Sure enough, the Captain had not over exaggerated the situation when he'd told them that even the emergency lighting had gone out. Not a speck of light seemed visible in the dark hallways, and every power box or generated that Rocket attempted to pry into wouldn't work no matter what he did to fix it. Luckily, the Guardians did not encounter much resistance, except a stray patrol of Kree soldiers- looking for survivors to exterminate Rocket guessed. Though at the same time however, this was a bad sign. The less soldiers that the group saw, and the less gunfire they heard made everything harder to locate the hostages that they needed to rescue. Not only that, but it ticked away the Captives' survival time. Every minute they wasted put the men that were still alive at risk of being killed, and Peter- nor any of the other Guardians liked the idea of that scenario occurring. The Electrical Elevators didn't even work, and that made it altogether a lot more difficult to navigate in between floors to cover more ground. According to Rocket's knowledge of the building's schematics, they would have to either find a staircase to use, or somehow find another way to gain access to the top floor.

Drax snorted at Rocket and Peter's conversation. "I do not fear the lack of a source of illumination, for Drax the Destroyer does not need to be able to see, to rip out his enemy's spine!" he insisted boldly.

Rocket scoffed and said, "Whatever you say Princess."

Drax glared down at Rocket. "I am not a Princess!" He protested angrily.

Sam patted his leg lightly, but hesitantly. "Hey, calm down big guy, he's just joking around with you!" she said firmly, but with a speck of amusement visible in her tone.

Rocket stole a glance at her way. "He can't take a joke Sam, that's nothing new to us, trust me," he smirked, making Drax glare after him crossly.

"What is a joke anyhow?" he muttered under his breath in wonder, as he caught up with Peter and the others.

Peter suddenly stopped in his tracks at the sound of a distant rustle up ahead. "Guys, shut up! You here that?" he whispered frantically.

They didn't hear a sound. Rocket scratched his head and looked around in bewilderment.

"What? I don't hear any-"

A sudden whistle in the wind made Rocket's ears prick, and shut his mouth.

Then out of the blue, Peter suddenly felt a strong use of force hit him in the side of his chest, followed by a burst of pain. He grunted with pain and withdrew one his Laser Pistols, but the sudden attacker disarmed him, and kneed him in the gut, making him crumple to the ground briefly. Rocket and everyone else reacted quickly to the attacker's presence, but not fast enough, in the dim amount of light they had. Rocket fired a burst of his Machine Gun at the attacker's silhouette, but the agile figure dashed to the side and ran alongside the wall towards Groot, kicking him in the face. Gamora dashed to intercept and leaped towards the figure with her sword in hand, but he lowered himself right as she impaled the sword into the wall above his head. Her opponent kicked her off of itself, and dashed outside the hallway's room, where Peter just barley caught of glimpse of the opponent's Robotic mask that it wore.

Gamora recovered from the blow to the chest she'd received, and Peter sat up from the ground, only to find the swift attacker long gone. Groot rubbed his bark-like face a little, frowning with anger at how quickly the enemy had managed to catch him off guard.

"Dang, that guy's fast…." Sam breathed.

Peter glanced to Gamora. "How much do you want to bet that dude was the leader?"

Gamora glanced back to him seriously. "100%," she replied without hesitation.

With that, the Guardians started after their attacker, which much to their surprise, waited until the last second to turn a corner. Peter and Gamora dashed after him, followed by their fellow allies, doing their best to keep pace with their mysterious assailant. Despite what little light they had left, Peter could faintly tell that they were in the Mess Hall at this point, due to the large ceiling above them. Groot kept fireflies dashing out of his root-like hands as they ran, in effort to allow them to see, but Rocket and Peter used their headlamps to see him clearly. The opponent ran left, and up a curved, metal staircase, where he started to gradually gain speed. Peter rushed up the staircase, and up around the curvy round to it, nearly tripping over himself, just to get to his opponent.

Then, once all six Guardians had reached the top of the staircase- just like that, the lights came on. One by one, just like that, every ceiling light in the room that they had now entered was on.

And as Star-Lord and his allies glanced around the room, his eyes landed on his mystical, Robotic-like opponent. He stood in the center of the bare room, which Peter recognized as the second floor of the Mess Hall. Fancy glass tables and chairs were scattered around the Mess Hall, in an organized fashion this time- unlike the rest of the Compound- which looked like a complete war zone. Not a single Kree soldier or Xandarian corpse was in sight this time- both a relief and surprise to Peter.

The only alarming thing in the situation- aside from the big robotic maniac and his two Kree guards in the middle of the room, was that in front of him- a captive Denarian Dey, sat in the center of the room. His mouth was covered with a rag, and from what Peter could see, his hands and feet were binded with Auto Cuffs.

The Robotic opponent put his metallic, gauntlet like hands in the air in greeting. "Welcome, Guardians of the Galaxy! We've been anticipating your arrival…" he said deeply and loudly. His voice sounded nothing like a living organism, but that of an emotionless machine.

At this moment, Peter caught a better glance at the mask he wore, and his appearance overall.

His metal, blackish colored mask resembled a hockey mask- a mask that Peter had seen people back on Earth use to play sports. The black, clear mask reflected light so easily off itself, and the eyeholes of the mask stared ever so emotionessly into Peter Quill's soul. The eyes were oval shaped and narrowed across towards where ears would have been present on a human's face, which made the robotic man look all the more intimidating. And the mouth curved to the sides of his face, with a little line of holes along the bottom of it, which looked as if they were used for breathing somehow. And last, but certainly not least, two breathing tubes were easily visible, sinking into his Mask cheeks, making it look as if he were wearing a Gas Mask overall. His black hooded overcoat covered his entire body from head to toe, and the backside of his head too. It looked heavily armored around the chest area, with some kind of solid, lightweight metal, which had some sort of faint design on it. From the looks of him, Peter guessed Assassin. Defiantly an Assassin of some kind.

"Dey!" Peter whispered in panic, immediately recognizing his face.

Peter and his allies went for their weapons, but of the Assassin's bodyguards drew a regular Pistol and put it to Dey's head as a clear act of intimidation. At this, Peter gestured for his friends to keep their weapons lowered, but stay put. He then took a cautious, bold step forward, with both of his hands up.

"What do you want with this place, Assassin?" He asked aloud.

Being a Robot, Peter knew he didn't have an expression, but he could tell that he was probably amused.

"Good," the Assassin praised deeply, "you know what I am. How perceptive you life forms can be at times….." he ran his metallic fingers down Dey's face, making him close his eyes and flinch in fear. "Yet so sensitive…." he crocked, his voice echoing as if he were possessed by something.

The Assassin turned his gaze to Peter's eyes again, where at once, Peter's suspicions about him not being living were confirmed, once he saw the cold, red eyes that lied behind that mask.

"But that is not the question at hand, that you seek, is it, Peter Quill?" he insisted.

Peter's blood ran cold, and his almost heart skipped a beat at the sound of his name, but he kept his cool. After all, this guy was a machine. It couldn't possibly be that surprisingly that he knew his name because of that, could it?

"Uh…. yeah, that's kinda what I just asked, Arnold Swarzenegger," Peter said with a shrug.

The Assassin's robotic eyes lit up at this. "What did you just dare to call me, life form?" he droned threateningly.

Peter looked at him puzzled. "Arnie? Duh, the guy who played Terminator, and the movie after that, and even in-"

The Robot stared at him as if he were completely insane and had just lost his mind.

"That name is not in my database," he replied simply after a few awkward moments of silence.

Peter rolled his eyes and drew his Laser Pistols. "Awe, forget this!"

He pointed them directly at the guards neighboring Denarian Dey and shot them both dead before the Assassin could react, and he looked back at both of them, to find both of his servants gone. The other Guardians readied their weapons on the Assassin Leader all at once.

By the time their opponent had turned back around, his eyes were blazing red. "Hmm. I should have expected this type of threat from a humanoid like you. But I hope you know, you have just made your last mistake, Peter Quill."

Peter scoffed. "Oh really? You think you can take all six of us on? We're the Guardians of the Galaxy, read the memo pal!" he urged.

The Robotic assailant just turned his head in an intimidating way, and stared down at Denarian Day. "Yes….. your numbers are great." He looked back up to meet Peter's gaze.

"But you should have brought more."

At the last second, he punched Dey across the face viciously, knocking him onto the ground unconscious, or worse.

Peter widened his eyes in surprise, and opened fire. "No!"

The Assassin leaped through the air in a spinning motion, while dodging the airborne laser projectiles, right as Peter jumped onto a table and lunged at the Assassin in midair. Drax, Groot, and Gamora ran towards the two to attack up close, while Sam and Rocket strayed behind, with their ranged weapons readied.

The Assassin nearly kicked Peter in the chest, but Star-Lord leaned to the side, and the robot stopped himself on the table, where the two immediately engaged in a brief fist fight. But each time Peter attempted to land a blow on him, the Swift Robot blocked every threat, and returned with more successful hits to Peter's chest. Star-Lord leaned backwards finally and attempted a quick roundhouse kick to his face, hoping to knock his strong opponent off balance. But the Assassin was much faster than Peter anticipated. He grabbed Peter's leg at the last second, where he managed to successfully kick the Human in the chest at lightning speed, propelling him off the table and into the wall.

Gamora and Drax both lunged at the robotic Assassin together, while Sam tried to get a clear shot of their opponent. Gomora slashed at him with her sword, but he sidestepped her attack and dodged Drax's reckless attempt at stabbing him, before kneeing Gamora in the stomach. Drax grabbed the Assassin from behind with both of his arms, while Gamora recovered from his previous attack and tried to stab him with her sword again, but their robotic opponent double kicked the green Assassin off the table. Drax tried to tear his enemy apart, but the Assassin improvised against his incredibly strong opponent, and stabbed him in the sides with the razor sharp gauntlets, forcing Drax to let him go at the sudden pain. As soon as he was free, the Assassin leaped around and double kicked Drax in the face, propelling the giant off the table and onto another glass one, breaking it to little shards.

Groot tried to whack the Assassin off from behind, but he jumped onto Groot's tree limb right as it came under him, right as Rocket had started shooting at him, and his bullets harmlessly hit Groot's back.

"Sorry Groot!" Rocket shouted out with a sharp intake of breath.

Groot growled lightly with anger and tried to smack him off him with his free arm, but the Assassin nimbly dodged his attack and spin jumped away from the six of his opponents.

Peter sat up after recovering from his injuries, and grunted a glance at the Robotic Menace that his team faced. This guy was faster then he'd thought he was. A LOT, faster.

Peter drew his two trusty energy weapons. "Time to improvise," he muttered to himself, as he charged after the mechanical opponent.

Gamora lunged at the Assassin once more with her blade, only to have her attack harmlessly deflected off by his metal gauntlets- which were attached to his wrists. She swung her blade around herself and deflected his anticipated wrist blade attack, before attempting to strike his chest, which the machine dodged. He propelled himself on the wall uses his legs and slashed straight over Gamora's head, right as she barely ducked under his razor sharp wrist blades- which ran past the ends of her long hair, cutting the ends off lightly. As soon as he passed over her, Gamora turned herself around just in time to block both of his Wrist blades, which crisscrossed into her sword in the shape of a letter X. Then, Gamora lifted herself on the ground, forcing the Assassin's wrist blades up with her sword, and double kicked him in the chest. The maneuvered ended with mixed results, and Gamora found it a foolish move in the end. The strength of her kick not only sent her opponent backwards off the table, but herself as well, sense their stuck blades hauled her forward onto him. Gamora forced her sword out of his gauntlets and rolled to the side away from him, right as one of his Razor sharp weapons grazed over where she once lied, sending bright sparks and a loud screech up from the ground at the intensity he'd put into the blow.

The Assassin jumped back up from the ground using his feet, just in time to dodge another one of Drax's reckless strength attacks. Peter fired off a few laser rounds at him, but the machine dodged those as well, just as easily as the last projectiles, and chucked a glass chair at his direction. But Peter shattered the chair with two more laser bolt shots, before leaping out of the way of the incoming glass shards.

Meanwhile, Rocket and Sam were still trying to figure out how to gain a good attack angle on their immensely strong opponent. With Peter and the others fighting so close to the enemy, it made the odds of a friendly being hit too risky. So Rocket finally made an attempt to help.

"Forget this!" Rocket growled in discouragement, "I can't sit back here and do nothing while this dude's beating up Quill and the others. Stay here!" he ordered Sam.

"No way!" Sam protested before he could turn around. "Let me go! I'm faster, and I can draw his attention so you can get a clear shot on him," she insisted.

"Faster?" Rocket echoed sarcastically, "please. You couldn't keep up with me even if your life depended on it, which is why I am going!"

Sam scoffed in disbelief. "You wanna bet on that, Chuckles?" she challenged viciously.

Rocket turned to face her, then turned around and sighed in distress. "You don't get it Sam. I'm not letting you go, because I'm not going to let you get yourself killed!"

Instead of being all, "oh my god, I didn't know you cared about me!," like Rocket expected her to, she scoffed again.

"So you think you don't think I'm good enough to do the job, is that it?!" Sam demanded angrily, "you think you're so much better than me, is that right?"

Rocket sighed again in distress, before suddenly looking towards the stairway behind them, and pointing towards it frantically. "Look, more enemy soldiers!" he shouted, before darting off towards the battle, right as Sam readied her Sniper Rifle in surprise at the stairwell.

"Where?" she asked, turning back to where Rocket was supposed to be. "I don't see any-" Sam kicked the ground in anger once she noticed he was gone.

"What the- Argh! I hate you so much…" she muttered, before readying her sniper to cover him.

The Assassin knocked Peter against wall again, now having parted him from his weapons, and having recently just tossed Gamora and Drax out of the ring recently.

Drax lie in a pile of broken glass, groaning in pain and anger at the same time as he struggled to get back up, and Gamora was pinned in her own weapon on the wall just across from the Assassin. And Groot was still halfway across the room, in between tables and chairs, struggling to get to Peter in time.

The Assassin walked across the room, triumphant of gaining his chance to finally end one of his opponent's lives, and picked up Peter by the throat- despite the mechanical mask that we wore. Star-Lord choked and wheezed through his mask, and struggled to find a way to harm his enemy, but the Robotic Assassain continued to choke him in his solid, steel grip. His burning, red, mechanical eyes gleamed with satisfaction at seeing him squirm and struggle, just like the little pest the humanoid had always been.

"Let's finish this," he droned determinedly, as he retracted one of his razor sharp gauntlets from his wrist, and brought it back for the killing blow.

Gamora gasped in shock at what was about to happen, and tried even harder to free herself. "No, Peter!" She shouted out.

But just as he was about to kill Peter, a small, furry figure jumped onto the Robot's head, blocking his vision, and forcing him to drop Peter- much to his relief.

"Quill, get the gun, NOW!" Rocket shouted.

Peter glanced to the Laser Pistol, just a few feet from him, under a split glass table.

Rocket rode the Assassin like a jockey, doing his best to cover his vision, as the Assassin wildly flailed his arms about, trying to get the Raccoon off of him. But even with his small success, Rocket was starting to lose his grip on his metal head.

"Damn it! Hurry man!" Rocket shouted again in panic, as his paw grip started to loosen.

Sam finally fired off a round at the Assassin's back, but all the Sniper round did was bounce off his back, much to her discouragement, making her curse under her breath. "Dang it!" she growled. Not even an Armor Piercing High Powered Sniper round could penetrate his metallic-like body armor. So the question remained: What would?

Peter raced for the Pistol had fast as he could, but the Assassin regained just enough eyesight to blast the table that Peter had ran for, with some kind of explosive energy weapon on his wrist. Peter fell backwards on impact of the blast, and grunted with pain, as he attempted to sit back up. He looked down at his gloved hand, to find it torn a little, to reveal bleeding flesh, with a large piece of clear glass, stuck deep into the palm of his hand. Peter tore the piece of glass out and yelped out in pain a little, before attending to his wound as quick as he could. If he didn't, he would lose a lot of blood from that kind of injury quicker than he could blink.

The Assassin finally caught grip of Rocket's bushy tail and grasped him, before swinging him around his head like a whip, and tossing him against the wall, slamming him into the concrete wall at an incredible speed. Rocket tried to sit up from the ground, but he couldn't find the strength to, since the wall had practically broken every bone in his fragile little back. He managed to turn back onto his stomach, where the Raccoon started to crawl desperately for his rifle.

But right before his paws could reach the machine gun, the Assassin picked him up by the scruff of the neck, nearly strangling him to death already. Rocket readied himself for the worst, but instead of killing him liked he'd expected him to do by now- he just continued staring directly into his blue eyes.

The Assassin froze almost for that moment, his blades still raised as if he were about to kill him, but his glowing red eyes still stared into Rocket's soul. Rocket almost became petrified at his gaze, he didn't know why, but he just did. Something about his eyes looked…. Shockingly familiar. Almost as if he somehow knew this Assassin.

The Robotic Assassin then, cocked his head to the side in curiosity, and his red eyes started to get a tad bit smaller. That's when Rocket heard the words.

"_Subject JP293….. you know where you belong."_

Rocket's eyes grew wide with fear, as sudden images flashed through his head at the words…. Horrific images. He saw…. A lab. Then Test Tubes, full of the worst and most nightmarish creatures that he could've ever imagined. Abominations, that was the word. Experiments, and….. sharp tools, bone-saws, syringes. They horrified Rocket, more than anything he'd ever seen in his life, yet he didn't know why. Then his point of view changed. He heard the sound of a drill, followed by a sudden enormous pained feeling in his little arm- liked he'd been carved from the inside out 100 times over, and his own screams of pain echoed in his ears. Then he heard voices, and saw a man. A smiling man, with a beard.

_You will be the perfect subject, JP293. _Then another voice, which sounded as if it were a different time suddenly. _All it will take is a few… modifications and you will be perfect. _And another: Rocket's own voice. _What…. What did you do to me?! _He heard himself scream out in panic. _Why… I made you perfect of course. You always wanted to be perfect didn't you, JP293? _Another cold, yet friendly voice, said in another flashback, _Your new name will be….. Rocket. What do you think, Grimlock? Doesn't it fit him rather nicely? _Then, Rocket heard, a deep, unmistakable tone reply, followed by the sight of his red, glowing eyes. _Yes master. It sounds like a fine name. _Then, Rocket saw the man with the beard look him in the eye- as if he knew he were having flashbacks, smile, and whispered: _And don't you forget, Subject JP293, you know where you belong. _

Then the flashbacks ended, and Rocket found the red eyes of Grimlock, staring back into his, in reality.

The Robotic Assassin, was none another than the stranger in his flashbacks: Grimlock.

* * *

**A/N Alright, I feel like I need to clear something up real quick. I wanted to point out, that Rocket's subject name isn't the same as the one that the guard stated in the movie, (After Rocket and Peter got captured) as some of you may have noticed. (Special thanks to the guest reviewer that reminded me about that! ;) much appreciated) All I will say is 1. I did that on purpose, despite the fact that I knew his actual subject name. And 2. You will find out why I did that later on in the story, otherwise it would be a spoiler. ;) so if you want to find out why... guess what? YOU have to keep reading!**


	6. The Assassin: Part II

**Deepest apologizes for the wait my friends! I've been very busy with my GOTG Roleplay, (Found at:  topic/158098/119329101/32/#127288867. Or look for the GOTG forum titled: Bellum Letale.If you are interested in checking out where I've been. In this roleplay, I play Sam, Rocket's love interest, and if you want to see some more of that, be sure to stop by and check out this link! Again, I am truly sorry for the month long wait, but for what it's worth, Happy late New Year, and please, enjoy the story!  
**

**You already know what I will say next, but please don't hesitate to share those thoughts, and smack that review button for me! ;)**

**(Hint: This story also goes more into detail on Sam's past, but she does not appear until about halfway through most of the roleplay. Some of these details on Sam's past will not be said in this story!)**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Assassin- Part II**

* * *

Suddenly, before anything else could take place, Gamora's blade sliced through the front of Grimlock's chest, right as the Assassin dashed by him.

The metallic Assassin dropped Rocket slowly and looked down at the weapon impaled through the front of his chest clamly, before grasping it with both of his metal hands. Gamora watched in stunned silence, as he ripped it out from his chest without hesitation, and tossed it aside like it was just a little splinter. Only a small hole remained where the sword once pierced his chest plate, but the machine didn't seem to care.

* * *

Sam gasped with panic when she saw Rocket on the ground. He wasn't moving, and that wasn't a good sign.

* * *

Gamora took a few steps hasty steps backwards, as Grimlock turned around to face her, and unsheathed his wrist blades. Immediately, three long, razor-like blades on each wrist gauntlet ejected from each one.

The Green Assassin looked over to the sword, which lie just a few feet behind Grimlock's feet.

Drax ran at Grimlock full speed at Grimlock, screaming with battle rage, as he charged towards him, but Grimlock simply knocked the dagger out of his grasp and grabbed him by the throat viciously, before tossing the giant into Groot, who was just arriving at a clear attack point.

Grimlock turned his attention back to his opponent, only to find her gone. And before his mechanical reflexes could process the situation, he found the back of a slick leg smash the front of his masked face, making him tumble backwards in surprise- just far enough for Gamora to grab her weapon safely, and spin kick him in the chest again for good measure.

Gamora readied herself with her sword, but found that Groot was already entangling the machine with his root-like arms. Grimlock eyes blared red in panic, as he tried to cut through the roots with his blades. But each time he managed to rid himself of a root a new one immediately replaced the one that he'd sliced off.

* * *

While this was happening, Sam tended to Rocket's aid. The minute she'd reached him, she crouched down at his side and propped her sniper rifle on a broken glass table. First things first, she had to make sure Rocket's pulse was intact, and that he was breathing. Sam put her ear to his chest first. His Heartbeat sounded good, much to her relief. Jumpy, but good. Then she brought her face closer to his mouth, where she could faintly her him breathing, but with a small wheeze here and there.

Before she could do anymore, she felt a familiar presence appear at her side, and Peter Quill slid to a stop beside Rocket. "How is he?" he asked firmly.

The female Raccoon looked back at him. "Fine, all except his breathing. He's wheezing, and I don't know why," she explained. She looked back at Groot, struggling to keep ahold of Grimlock in his roots. "I can help Rocket, just go help the others!" she insisted.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked hesitantly.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Go!" she urged him.

Star-Lord nodded and did as she insisted.

Once he was gone, Sam looked back down at the unconscious Rocket, and tried to shake him awake. "Rocket, Rocket wake up!" she urged him.

He still didn't move, but a low groan of pain erupted from him as she attempted to move him over. Being a little more careful this time, Sam set him down as lightly as she could, back into his original position, but propped up against the wall. There, she moved closer to his face, just to make sure she could hear his breathing again.

"Rocket, please, wake up!" she asked frantically, her voice starting to sound more panicked, as she tried to shake him again. But he still didn't move, or even stir.

Then, Sam came up with an idea. She rolled her eyes and face palmed in hesitation, before silently muttering something to herself. "He'd better not feel this."

Right before she leaned even closer to his face, and kissed him on the cheek lightly.

This time, she got something from him, and Rocket stirred a little.

Sam shook him a little again at seeing a positive response from him again. "Rocket, hey! Can you hear me?" she asked excitedly.

Then, she saw his eyes open lazily, before they closed again, and he groaned in pain. "Y- yeah…." He replied drowsily.

Sam looked away for a second, then meet his closed eyes. "Did you feel that?" she muttered.

Rocket's eyes opened a little, and he scratched his head. "Feel what?"

Sam blushed a little and turned away. "Good," she replied, ignoring what he had just asked. She looked back towards the battle.

* * *

"Keep ahold of him, dumb tree!" Drax shouted, grunting as he sat up from the ground. With a weapon in hand, Gamora appeared beside him, and helped him up.

Groot snorted in offence, but did as he was requested to do.

Drax smiled briefly at her. "For what it is worth, thank you for the aid, assassin," he said.

Gamora smiled back and nodded, and together they both charged at the pinned Grimlock in front of them.

Groot held in firmly in his roots, with this time, each one covering every inch of opponent's body, expect his head. Grimlock summoned all of his strength and pushed against the roots, but even that wasn't enough to break all of the roots all at once. He knew their puny steel toys wouldn't harm him much, but if he gave them enough time, they would do critical damage to him eventually. And time was something this Assassin could not waste. He flipped away his metal blades, for another weapon in his arsenal…..

Right as the two Guardians lunged forward with their melee weapons, when their weapon tips nearly came in contact with his chest plate, a slash of light stroke straight through Groot's root wall, and right across the blade part of their swords. And down went the blades, cut clean off by a new, exotic weapon that the Assassin now wielded, one that the Guardians of the Galaxy had never seen before: An Energy Sword.

It was because of Rocket that the team had heard about such a weapon at all. At the time, he'd told them that this particular weapon could slice and penetrate just about ANY, material in the entire Galaxy, including any variant of metal. It shined brightly, and buzzed directly out of a small, black, fashioned handle. The Shining part, being a focused, laser. Of course, the team thought Rocket was insane, as usual, and thought that it was highly unlikely that such a weapon would appear in their travels. Until now of course.

Grimlock swished around furiously and under-slashed a confused Groot's left arm clean off, making the giant tree take a step back in fright at the sight of such a dangerous weapon. The metallic Assassin ducked under the tree's attempt at whacking him with his last remaining arm, and, _slash! _Groot's right arm, was history.

Gamora and Drax both still tried to overpower him, despite their destroyed weapons, but Grimlock knocked them back easily, without having to use his energy sword.

He turned back around to face Groot- who stood defenselessly in the same spot as before, and rose his Energy Sword for the killing blow to his head.

But right before this could occur, a sudden blast of energy from behind him sent him onto a glass table in front of him. Using as a chance to avoid danger, Groot backed away cautiously, towards where Sam was currently watching over his dearest friend. A small, smoking laser blast was left on the back of Grimlock's clocked armor, and he turned back around to face his opponent, to find Peter Quill, standing there with one of his famous grins, and both of his Laser Pistols drawn.

"Say goodnight, Freddy Krugger!" He snickered, before blasting him in the chest with both weapons at once.

At once, Grimlock was propelled behind a table, as soon as the projectiles came in contact with his chest.

Dead silence spread throughout the room a few seconds later, and smoke rose up from Peter's barrels, as he took a few cautious steps forward towards the Assassin's death site. After not seeing Grimlock get back up, Star-Lord turned to his team members in satisfaction.

"Hey guys, I think I got him!" he exclaimed in disbelief, putting his hands in the air.

But Gamora and Drax didn't look as sure, and continued staring behind Peter, at something he couldn't see. "Quill….. I would heavily advice that you turn around slowly," Gamora told him cautiously.

Peter did as she requested. And what he saw, came as much a surprise to him as it did to his allies.

The black suited Robotic Assassin stood once more.

Star-Lord rolled his eyes at this in disbelief, and his jaw dropped to the ground. "Oh man, you have- you've got to be kidding me! You're still alive?"

The other Guardians also seemed just as stunned that their strong- yet one opponent still stood after so many blaster shots.

From what Peter could, Grimlock's chest was smoking from the impact of the laser bolt, and some blasted wires of his inside were scarcely visible, but other than that, little to no damage seemed to have been done to him. Grimlock's red eyes lit up brightly in anger through the very eyeholes of his black, soulless mask, and he brushed the back of his hooded armor lightly, as if trying to clean it.

"Fools!" he declared. "Such poorly constructed contraptions cannot harm something like me. But of course, you of all living creatures would fail to understand this."

Peter glared at him. "Hey, this is not poorly constructed Robo-Cop!" He protested, putting one of his Laser Pistols in the air for him to see. "It's a Tier Four-Mark Two Laser Pistol! Very high tech stuff bro!"

Out of the very corner of his eye, he could see Gamora trying to check on Denarian Dey, who was still unconscious at the time. So that gave Peter another idea. He and his enemy were now on opposite sides of the battleground. And what their opponent failed to realize, was that his own captive was now sitting with the Guardians. All he had to do was stall this guy long enough for Gamora to get Dey free.

"Now, back to my original question: What do you want with the orb?" Peter demanded from afar.

Grimlock cocked his head to the side in curiosity- at least that's what Peter thought it was. With a machine, you never know.

"Ah, yes…. this orb," he stretched. At that moment, he withdrew the very device that could mean endgame for the universe: The Orb. "A precious artifact that you believe can both save and prevent the universe from ultimate devastation and destruction. That's what everyone says about this particular device, is it not?" Grimlock droned deeply.

Peter's eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the orb, but he kept his cool, for the sake of their captured friend.

"Yeah, pretty much man," he admitted casually, lowering his weapon slowly.

Grimlock slowly began to pace around the room, clutching the device in the palm of his hand as if it were a fruit he'd plucked from a tree. "It is not I, who is worthy of holding this device," he stated simply. He looked Peter in the eye briefly, and held the orb up for him to see. "This device is of the utmost importance of the man who requires it, unlike your- petty Xandarian allies," he insisted deeply, "and I will not reveal the details about why, as that is classified information."

Peter rolled his eyes. _Obviously, _he thought to himself. "When you said you were expecting us, what did you mean?" Peter demanded, changing the question, "you know as well as I do that it's not every day you know before your enemies do that their coming."

Grimlock stopped in mid movement. "We contain more knowledge about you then you could possibly imagine, Peter Quill. Every step you've taken sense the day you were taken from Terra by the Ravagers, every second you've breathed your fresh Terran air and slept, my leader and I have been keeping constant surveillance on you. And not just you, but one of your allies as well," he added.

This sent more chills down Peter's spine, as if a Rattlesnake had just slithered down his back every so softly… and then some. That couldn't possibly be true, could it? A Robotic Assassin, stalking him every second he'd been out of Terra? That didn't sound right, and it didn't sound like a very pleasing or admirable thought to Peter at the moment. Besides, who could this leader of his possibly been, that would have such an obsession with him, and one of the Guardians?

Suddenly, Grimlock's red eyes turned large, as he gazed up at something behind Peter in alarm.

Peter turned around, just in time to find a crippled Rocket, with his Machine gun propped on the table, in grenade launcher mode. His back trembled a little, and so did his right shoulder, but Rocket still stood, despite these setbacks.

"No!" Grimlock exclaimed, not sounding like a Machine at the moment. "That- that is impossible! You cannot be standing, after the pain I have just caused you!"

Rocket gritted his teeth in anger, and adjusted his gun barrel. "Believe me, you stupid, screwed up tin can, you might be made of metal, but you can still burn you little shit!" he shouted, before pulling the trigger on his machine gun, launching three consecutive grenades at once.

They whizzed into the air, almost in slow motion, and a high pitched whistled pierced the wind, as they nearly came in contact with Grimlock's body armor. Then, _ka-boom! _Three different explosions went off almost at the exact same time, sending glass shards and pieces of the concrete wall flying into the air.

After this was done, Sam helped readjust him so that he could stand up all the way, and with a pained wince, Rocket was standing again. He was a little slumped over because of his back wound, but other than that, he looked alright to his female companion. He looked over through the smoke, waiting eagerly for it to clear up so he could see his destroyed opponent, that'd he'd tried to so hard to kill in the past.

But when the smoke finally did clear up, Grimlock, was nowhere to be found.

"He's gone!" Peter shouted back to the others, feeling both relieved and discouraged about this at the same time.

Even though the Assassin was off their backs now, he still had the orb, and Peter was pretty sure that his intentions for using it were no better than Ronan's. But now the hostages were their priority, now more than ever.

Rocket squinted where their enemy once stood. "What? How'd he do that? I just shot him, he should be dead! There ain't no way that dumb tin can could've possibly dodged that!" he protested.

Sam walked up beside him. "Yeah? Well he kind of just did Chuckles," she remarked with a roll of her eyes. Rocket glared at her for saying that, but didn't reply to it, or retaliate in any way.

"Peter, over here!" Gamora shouted.

Peter turned around, and not much to his surprise, he found Dey, leaning against a stone cylinder building support. His hair was out of place, and both his forehead and his nose bleed from a concussion of some sort. His uniform looked slightly ruined, but other than that, he didn't look to be in that bad of a condition.

He rushed to the Xandarian's aid immediately, widening his eyes in surprise. Dey's eye meet his, and he managed to crack a small smile. "Long time no see Starlord-" he coughed roughly into his hand a moment. "If only we could've meet in more- formal and friendlier terms," he joked, wincing a little bit as Gamora attempted to readjust his shoulder.

Peter smiled back and helped rest him against the cylinder. "No pressure, there's always tomorrow to do that," he joked back. "You're going to be alright Dey, that dumb tin can's gone now."

Dey's expression returned to normal, and he scanned over the entire team, as if re-recognizing their faces. "Thank god you're all here, I never thought I'd get to see the light of day, if it weren't for you- Guardians of the Galaxy. Did- did anyone else get out of the compound. Did Prime-"

"Yeah," Peter interrupted, "Nova Prime got out, she's alright sir. But where's your security team?" he directed back, gazing around briefly.

Dey winced again, and the grave look on his face said it all. "Dead," he replied bluntly, "all eight of them. We were managing to hold out fine until that robot psycho- killed them all…. Slaughtered and cut them apart like pigs. My heartbeat beacon broke as I was trying to get away, but I managed to stay hidden for a while…" The Xandarian commander looked over at the two dead Kree guards in the middle of the room. "Until those two made my luck run short."

"Do you know where the other men are? The captives," Peter urged him, "do you know if those guys are alive still?"

Dey stirred a little, and looked ready to fall unconscious. Peter tapped him on the check with his hand lightly. "Hey, hey, hey, come on now Dey, stay with me here!" he ordered.

At this, Dey's eyelids fluttered a little, and he opened them a little more, trying to make himself sit up better. "I don't know, but I- they're likely dead. Last I saw, they were holding out in the armory, but I don't know if they're still alive." Dey stammered.

Peter exchanged knowing glances with Rocket, and Gamora, then shot back around to face the wounded Commander. "Alright, hold up Dey, we're going to find you some help."

He looked over to Groot, whom at the time, was apparently eating stray leaves growing out of his shoulder. Peter facepalmed. "Groot, can you not?" he said in annoyance.

Groot immediately halted his herbivore meal, and shrugged in protest. "I am Groot?" he said.

Peter sighed again, but did his best to ignore the tree's previous meal. "Whatever, look, I need you to get this guy to the Nova Crop outside, can you do that for me?"

Groot smiled and nodding, picking up Dey delicately, and placing him over his shoulder, which immediately created a cradle of roots over Dey to help hold him there. "I am Groot," he confirmed, started to hastily walk back towards the exit.

Meanwhile, Rocket was still trying to cope with what Grimlock had said back there. _Subject JP293? _Rocket thought in bewilderment. _I'm supposed to be 89P13! _He put his hands on his face and tried to block out what the robot had said. The Raccoon still didn't fully understand how he had looked so familiar…. so deadly familiar with those burning red eyes, yet so menacing at the same time.

Sam approached him from behind. "Hey, Rocket, your human friend says we gotta get moving!" she urged him. Being more calm, she asked, "are you alright there? You look like you got slammed into that wall a hundred times over."

Rocket scoffed in pure arrogance and looked away from her. "I'm fine," he growled, sounding a little more angry then he'd meant to sound, but also not caring.

The Raccoon felt along his own back lightly with his paw, and when he'd brought it back up to his face, he found light blood on the edge of his paw pads. He rubbed it together with his fingers, where he then realized what it actually was, and winced in pain lightly from the wall slam.

"Dang… that guy packs a punch," he muttered to himself silently, as he followed Quill up the stairs of the compound.


	7. Taken

**Sorry for the month long delay again guys! I realize how long it's been, and I apologize once again, but life gets you once In a while, and let me tell you, it has for me. :/ I am afraid that updated chapters may not arrive until 2 - 3 weeks after the first one is published, but I will try my best from this point on to update as soon as I can. Know this: I will never abandon this story. **

**Anyways, Happy Valentines Day, and enjoy the chapter!**

**Note: I apologize if the battle scenes aren't written the best and are too quick. :( action isn't my biggest genre, even though I like it.**

**Please don't forget to share your thoughts and hit that review button for me! ;D**

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**Chapter 7: Taken**

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The minute Kree soldiers had swarmed the third floor, Rocket was pretty sure they'd found the Armory. That and the arrow signs naturally directing them to their destination, but that wasn't how he'd known they were close to the Armory.

However, they also found that they weren't the only ones in the fire fight at the time. There seemed to be other resistance fighting against the Kree, and huddled together at some place along the third floor. Xandarian soldiers from the looks of it. Luckily for the Guardians, the Kree on there side were occupied with the Xandarains, but Peter knew they wouldn't last long on their own.

Just liked last time, Peter, Gamora, and Drax all charged into the mix, while Rocket and Sam took to ranged combat from a distance.

"I don't think those are the bad guys chief!" Rocket told Peter, pointing to the group of Xandarians huddled in the middle.

Peter looked over and nodded to him, before activating his battle mask once more. "Then let's give them a little hand," he declared, before running ahead towards the hostile Kree soldiers from behind.

Peter shot one in the back, making him crumple to the ground. Two more enemies armed with Laser weaponry turned around to face there opponent, only to be gunned down without mercy by Peter's own weapons. He landed in a crouching position behind a flipped over table and finished the two opponents that lie on each side of him, and Sam finished off the sniper providing over watch on the fourth floor. Rocket finally decided to run head on with the team, all the while gunning down unsuspecting Kree soldiers, who turned around right as he unloaded on their black suits of pointless armor.

Gamora leapt over a counter in front of her and landed a sweeping kick to a Kree's face, knocking him flat on his back, and then jabbed him in the chest with her sword. Drax raced head on a group of three enemies, who'd just turned their attention to Gamora's sudden ninja-like attack, and laughing like a mad man, he punched one across the face before grabbing the remaining two by their heads and smashing them together numerous times, until their bodies went limp. He heard the sound of a Heavy Weapon being fired, and noticed that the Krees' had created and mounted one of their stationary weapons. Looking down at the two lifeless corpses he held in his hands, Drax tossed them at an alarming rate of speed, at the Kree soldiers arming the weapon, knocking them off the glass railing, screaming themselves to their death until they reached the ground. Drax grinned in satisfaction and noticing yet another enemy, he lunged over the counter in front of him and grabbed the soldier's throat, readying his fist to beat him to a bloody pulp.

"Drax!" Peter's voice stopped him from doing anything else. He ran to his side, his mask dispersed momentarily, now frowning with confusion and his eyebrows creased. "Hold on bro, this guy's not a Ninja Turtle, put him down!"

It took Drax a minute to realize that he was holding a scared half to death Nova Corp soldier in his grip, that and the other four aiming weapons at him. He slowly lowered him to the ground and let go. "My deepest apologizes Xandarian," Drax mumbled.

The soldier who'd been dropped turned back around swiftly, and his allies helped keep the enemy Krees at bay. "Deepest apologizes my rear end!" he growled. "Who are you guys supposed to be? A buncha rag tag wannabes?" he asked harshly, rubbing his shoulder, which looked to already have been shot.

"Why would I apologize to your rear end?" Drax asked, frowning in confusion.

The soldier looked back at him with a questioning raise of his eyebrows, clearly confused, then back at Starlord. "Uh… does your friend understand the concept of-"

"No, he doesn't even know what a joke is sir," Peter interrupted. Realizing that the conversation seemed to be heading off task, he said something more essential to the current situation. "But anyway, you don't know who we are? Seriously? Dude, we're the Guardians of the Galaxy, don't tell me you haven't read the memo too," Peter stated, ducking down behind cover next to him, and taking a shot at a Kree.

"The Guardians?" The Lead soldier echoed in surprise. He glanced back at the enemy soldiers, then back at him. "Help me take care of these guys, then we'll talk!" he shouted back.

Peter opened his mouth to protest, but the soldier had already leaped out of cover along with his fellow comrades and started opening fire. He ended up letting a sigh of frustration, before turning his mask back on, and jumping back into the firefight.

He and the group of soldiers- not to exclude Rocket, Sam, Drax and Gamora, all worked together to fight the swarming Kree soldiers, as if they were one military Task Force, fighting against the enemy to achieve victory.

Peter, the Nova Corp, Rocket, and Sam all unloaded on their enemy together. Gamora and Drax did their parts on attacking up close, but the large amount of enemy soldiers made it increasingly difficult to push forward, so they strayed back most of the time to avoid being hit.

The firefight between them went on for another ten minutes, until the Kree soldiers suddenly decided to fall back. They ran far into whatever doorway they could find inside the compound and jumped through whatever windows they saw, shooting behind their shoulders, and running…. Like they knew something was about to happen.

"They're runnin' already?" Peter asked in confusion.

"Ha! What a buncha wimps! We had them beat before this battle'd even took place!" Rocket laughed.

The Commander of the Nova Corp ground didn't look or sound as enthusiastic. "Hold on!" he put his fist in the air, suddenly halting his troops fire. "This battle's not over yet my friends…. far from it."

A rumbling sounded not far from the Guardians position across the hallway, shaking the skylight above them, and causing the glass above to shatter. The glass shards fell and scattered onto and around the group of Nova Crop and the Guardians alike, but they paid little attention to it, instead, listening to another current distraction, which shook the floor a little more.

Out of the hallway walked a large machine that looked about two times the size of Groot, with duel machine guns hanging on each side of itself. A single, box like structure on it served as the head and torso, with two red dots, which seemed to serve as eyes at the time that lied on each side of its box like head. Two metal legs, with curved metal plates at the bottom of them helped control the speed of and momentum of its movements.

Quill's jaw dropped to the ground. "Uh…. those are really big guns," he restated, not caring that he'd used same statement from before.

It turned it's box sized head towards the Guardians and Nova Crop, and at that instant, the weapons attached to its sides started to spin, followed by a high pitched whirring sound that emitted from the machine.

"GET DOWN, NOW!" The Nova Corp Leader yelled, leaping behind a solid counter, followed by his fellow soldiers preforming the same action.

Rocket, Peter, and the other Guardians didn't hesitate to listen.

At that moment, a burst of machine gun fire erupted from both barrels of the immense machine. It ran straight ahead at them, firing recklessly at any enemy they saw. Rocket flinched as a stray bullet whizzed by the edges of his fur. This was one of those times where he really wished Groot were here.

The Nova Corp took positions behind their counter and attempted to blind fire from cover, but the machine kept them pinned at their current location.

Peter activated his rocket boots, which lifted him off the ground, and unloaded on the enormous machine with both of his duel pistols. He flew overhead of it, right as the machine's weapons slowly rose upwards towards Peter's position. The Terran attempted to dodge its wave of bullets, but one stray bullet hit the bottom of his Rocket Boot, causing his transportation to go haywire on him, and smoke started to appear right away where he'd be shot at. He swerved around furiously in the air, struggling to get back on track, but his attempt failed in the end, resulting in Peter clumsily crash landing into another nearby metal desk.

Drax took advantage of the machine's attention being off Peter, and ran ahead straight at it. He charged at it and jumped onto one of its Mini Guns, and summoning all of his strength, he started to rip it from its body. Creaking and whining protests of the mechanical menace sounded from within itself, as the Mini Gun attempted to turn towards Drax, but he continued pulling with all of his might.

Howeve, the Kree as he turned out, had decided to join the party again. One soldier attempted to bash Drax from behind, so the maniac grabbed him with one of his hands, and punched him across the face, knocking the soldier to the ground. But as he did this, it allowed the gun totting machine to knock Drax off with ease. He was rammed into the wall of a nearby technological booth, causing more shards of glass to rain onto him, and Drax grunted with pain at the wall bash, as the machine's Mini Guns started to spin.

But right when things seemed to be turning in the Kree's favor, something interrupted Drax's demise from commencing. "Hey, dumb machine!" a voice called.

The machine's box-like head turned at the sound of the voice, to find one of the Nova Corp soldiers, with a loaded Triple Barreled Rocket Launcher. "This is for Xandar," he stated, pulling the trigger on the launcher, sending a barrage of missiles into the machine. It staggered backwards on impact of the missiles, and the Machine's box head now looked to be cracked. One of his red, blinking lights on the side of its head was now out, and the second one looked to be fading away. The problem however, was that the machine was not dead yet.

The Nova Corp soldier who'd fired the Missile Launcher stepped backwards cautiously to see if he'd done anything to it, or if the robot would fall to its death.

"It's not dead yet!" the Captain yelled.

"Get back!" Another soldier shouted in panic.

But they spoke to soon. After hearing the whining of the Mini Guns starting to spin, the Nova Corp soldier was lying flat on the ground, full of bullet holes, dead.

The Kree machine looked over at the rest of the Nova Core, getting ready to spin its weapons again, as if to say, 'who's next?' The Captain looked enraged, and in disbelief, and even the Guardians of the Galaxy looked stunned to see that it hadn't fallen yet by three rockets.

Rocket sat in his one spot of cover, inhaling and exhaling calmly. Sam was just right across from him, looking just as hopeless as he did about the situation they were now in.

But then, a new presence rumble throughout the base silently, and Rocket's ears rose at hearing this familiar sound. It sounded like footsteps…. Strangely familiar ones too.

Just then, Rocket knew who it was, when a large figure came running at the machine from behind, it's tree-like arms swaying wildly, and the Raccoon heard some all too familiar words be shouted.

"I, AM, GROOT!

The large machine turned around to face the tree humanoid, but Groot rammed himself into the threat, and wrapped his long, tree limbs around it. His arms created roots, which entangled the robots weapons. From what Rocket could see, Groot was actually a couple 6 inches taller than the machine, making it easier for him to overpower the robot. With a grunt, Groot picked the robot up by the head, slowly but surely, raising him higher and higher above the ground, until he'd practically had him halfway off of the ground. Then, the tree humanoid ripped off his Mini Guns, one by one, before he'd raised him even higher above his head, and thrown him across the room.

The robotic contraption smashed into the concreate wall on impact, it's legs still working, but barely. With a weak groan, the robot attempted to take a step forward towards Groot, only to shakily move to the left, as if it were drunk.

But Groot wasn't finished with him yet. He picked up the two Mini Guns from the ground, one in each tree limb, and approached the now defenseless behemoth casually with them. The machine groaned mechanically again, and a rackety whirring weakly started to sound, as it tried to move backwards away from Groot. The tree shoved one Mini Gun through the Box-like head of the large machine, causing the second red light on its head to go dark, then, holding the second heavy weapon like a baseball bat in both hands, Groot brought in back behind his head, and slammed the multiple barrels of the Mini Gun against the one that was stuck in his head, causing it to move deeper through it. Then he brought in back again, and smashed it against his head again, and again, and again, until the machine's head was split in half. In moments, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Nova Corp, found themselves staring at a pile of overkilled mechanical wreckage, lying on the fourth floor of the compound.

The soldiers sat up cover, gasping for their breath out of disbelief. Peter sat up from the ground, grunting and wincing as he sat up, and grabbed his Laser weaponry. He scooted a little closer to the mechanical pile of wreckage on the ground, and cautiously gave it a little kick, causing a few sparks to appear, but nothing else exciting happened despite this.

Groot looked down at the machine in triumph and smiled, pumping his muscles, as smashing it one more time with the Mini Gun he held. "I am Groot!" he declared, probably saying something prior to his victory over the large behemoth.

Rocket sat up and coughed a little, trying to get the dust that had clogged itself in his throat out.

The Leader of the Nova Corp walked over to the Terran, and grabbed Peter's hand, helping his stand him. His face now had a few scratches on it, and what looked to be a bullet graze lied on his right check, but the soldier seemed to be okay other than that.

"Captain Salvias Royce," he said. Peter nodded in acknowledgement. "And for what it's worth Mr. Quill, we appreciate the- somewhat of a rescue 'attempt,' but even though you may have saved us at the moment, we still have two more Nova Corp members that need rescuing."

"Yeah, but you aren't going anywhere fast without our help Captain, trust me, Peter insisted.

Gamora stepped up to his defense. "He's right. You won't get to those men in time without our help, especially with the amount of men they still have. With only 4 other men to cover you, your odds of success are slim."

The Captain turned, and almost immediately, his expression turned vicious at the sight of her. His eyes grew wide, like he recognized her and his teeth gritted together, as he readied his weapon on the green assassin. The Laser Rifle whined, clearly stating that it was ready for firing. "How dare you show your face to Xandarians after what Ronan just made our people through!" he growled. The other soldiers around them turned their weapons on Gamora. Royce looked in Peter's direction. "You'd best have a very good reason for her standing in our presence Mr. Quill!" he demanded.

"Whoa, whoa, lower the toy there man, cool off!" Peter urged, getting in front of the Captain's weapon point and waving his arms like a stranded plane crash survivor. "She's with us, trust me! Gamora doesn't work for that Ronan dude anymore, and she sure as heck doesn't have any problems with you guys! She's one of us," Peter finished calmly.

The Captain still kept his weapon pointed in Peter's direction, the hostility and anger burning in his eyes and he glared sharp daggers straight at the Terran's eyes, and also at Gamora's. But the next second, he finally lowered his weapon, though the hostility still remained in his green eyes. The soldiers went along with their commanding officer's actions.

"Fine," he replied reluctantly. He looked up at Peter, and pointed at him. "But know that we will be keeping close surveillance on your little murdering slut," he growled.

Gamora glared at him. "Watch your tongue Xandarian, or I will silence it permanently!" she threatened.

The Captain stared back at her with that crazy look in his eyes, like he wanted to murder someone. "Charming," he ended up muttering under gritted teeth, clearly trying to keep his real anger contained. Turning back to Peter, he added on. "Fine. But just how do you suggest we reach the top floor without using the staircases? We still have another ten floors to go, and even then, any floors above this one are laser sealed, and not only that the elevators are not active, or in other words, not able to be activated, period!"

Peter knew very well- based off of Rocket's knowledge that Gamora wasn't exactly the most popular person in the galaxy, especially due to the fact that she'd taken the lives of many people's families during her line of work with Ronan. But Peter still valued her highly, and saw that it wasn't her fault that Gamora was this way. Of course, Xandarians of all people failed to understand this, especially after Ronan's little show with the Dark Astor on Xandar. The Captain seemed no different, and Peter knew he could hate her for any of the following reasons.

"Actually my friend, you may want to reconsider that sentence."

Peter and the Nova Corp turned their heads at the sound of Rocket's voice, just in time to hear Elevator music turn on. Rocket Raccoon stood in that exact spot in front of the doorway, grinning, just as two steel elevator doors opened behind him. The elevator's panel had looked to have be hacked.

Peter's jaw dropped for the hundredth time. "You mean to tell me that YOU, could've done that at any time?!" he said out loud in disbelief.

Rocket shuffled his feet and smirked, looking away from the dumbfounded Terran. "No- not at any time," Rocket's voice reached a high pitch, "it only works for certain elevators…." He put a paw of his mouth to stifle the laughter that was starting to creep into his voice, and Peter Quill rolled his eyes and facepalmed, sighing with frustration. "I hate you sometimes…." he mumbled, as he walked into the elevator.

_Dang rodent, _he thought to himself, remembering the time Rocket had pulled this same kind of prank, when he'd made him fight through several different guards at the prison they'd been stuck in, given a crippled old man 40,000 units for his robotic leg, and run back to the backstabbing ball of fur with it, only to find that it'd all been a JOKE! From that point on, Peter had been cautious about anything the Raccoon had said, and he hated Rocket for that…. for the most part.

Rocket sighed in amusement and shook his head. "Ah…. I know," he laughed, as the group of troops approached the elevator's entryway.

Captain Royce suddenly halted them before they could enter, his rifle propped on his shoulder, and frowned. "Hold on!" he insisted, "why are we going into a transportation device that is so obvious to attract the enemy's attention? You'd be a fool to think that the Kree wouldn't have that area guarded!" he insisted.

Rocket looked up at the bulky soldier and grinned. "Thank you for stating the facts Captain Obvious!" he said sarcastically, "but luckily for you, I have a plan."

Peter groaned. "That's supposed to be my line."

The Captain, ignoring Peter's remark, suspiciously asked, "What might you suggest?"

Rocket looked down the hall, and hearing the faint footsteps of a Kree patrol, he grinned. "Well, for starters, I'm gonna need a few things…. Involving those guys over there."

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Grimlock walked over to a wooden counter top and gripped the railing beside him, as he looked down at the two prisoners that he had positioned near the glass panel leading to the outside. Kree soldiers lined the long glass panel, and kept their weapons at ease. The robotic menace looked back at one Kree.

"How much longer will it be before transportation arrives?" Grimlock demanded.

The soldier looked down at the wrist bracer attached to his arm, then to his superior. "Approximately 5 minutes sir," he replied.

Grimlock turned away. "Good," he said. The mechanical whirring of his helmet sounded as he cracked his neck around and adjusted it. His red eyes suddenly went alit, and immediately, his head went up. "I have just received a new order from our superior. Execute the prisoners. Both of them."

The Kree soldier bowed. "Yes sir, with pleasure." The soldier unsheathed a small handle from his side, which ejected a blue flash of blinding energy from it, sizzling like lava. Two others held the Nova Corp members up so the executor could kill them easily.

The Kree held the energy weapon high in the air above his head, readying it for the kill, when suddenly, a rumbling sound interrupted his chance to do so.

"Wait!" Grimlock ordered, putting his gloved hand in the air, halting the Nova Corp Soldier's execution. "The elevators are being used?" he asked in confusion. Turning to his remaining Krees, he ordered, "investigate this intrusion, and put a stop it, immediately!"

With that, the Kree all made their way to the two elevator doorways, their weapons readied, as they crowded near the entrances. They waited and waited, as the rumbling made it's way up from below, and it became louder to their ears until it came to a sudden stop. Then, the doors opened, and _Hooked on a Feelin' _started to play.

The soldiers peered inside the first open elevator, right away, finding the origin of the music that was playing.

Sitting in the center of the elevator, was armored Kree soldier, binded forcefully into a black office chair, with a homemade time bomb strapped to his chest, which played the song that they'd be hearing from the outside. The timer on it read: _3 Seconds remaining. _The soldiers that were watching widened their eyes in surprise at the sight of the timer, and turned to run, only to do so when the timer reached zero. At that exact moment, chaos erupted, and anyone standing near the elevator was blown into the wall behind them, or blown to kingdom come, and the other soldiers that had been watching the second elevator had been hit by the bomb too, resulting in a few fatalities of their own.

At the time of the bomb's detonation, the second elevator door opened, and 5 Nova Corp soldiers and a tree humanoid came running out, attacking any Kree they saw. From the top of the elevator's hatch, Peter, then Rocket, Gamora, Sam, and Drax, jumped down, and raced outside to join the fray. Grimlock scrambled for his Laser Pistol and started firing at the group, while backing away towards the glass panel behind him slowly. Other Kree scrambled to react to the situation, but were killed before they could fight back effectively. Quill grabbed one soldier from the ground and slammed him against the wall, before firing a laser bolt into his chest, and smacked another behind him with the butt of his pistol, only to find that Drax had snapped his neck for him, ending his life indefinitely. The hostages meanwhile, were tended to by Gamora, who were only about 6 feet from Grimlock's current position, behind a metal desk.

Once all enemies were dead and eliminated, Quill, Rocket, and everyone else approached a pinned Grimlock.

"Now do you think you can take us all, Robo-Cop?" Peter asked from underneath his mask firmly, readying his weapons along with the Nova Corp. "Double the guys, double the firepower, think you can top eleven people?"

Grimlock just lowered his pistol and looked over them all with his red eyes. "I am quite capable of handling you all, but I am afraid I don't have the time." The assassin drew the Infinity Orb from his side with his free hand. "Nor does my master."

Rocket approached the robot from behind Peter, his teeth bared and his eyes demanding answers. "How do you know who I am?" he demanded. "Who are you even?!"

At this point, the Raccoon didn't care if Peter or anyone else heard what he was saying. He had to know the truth about his strangely familiar appearance, and how he seemed to know this robot.

Grimlock simply looked down at the Raccoon into his gaze, and took another step back against the glass panel.

"Don't move another muscle you imbecile!" The Captain warned.

Ignoring him, Grimlock said, "you will receive answers in time, Rocket Raccoon. But if you wish to have them….. the path to finding me, lies within one of your group."

Peter glanced to the side at Rocket in confusion, as if questioning what he was asking. "Rocket, what does this guy mean? What's he talking about?"

Grimlock looked at Star-Lord. "And you…. Peter Jason Quill, you are going to seek answers as well. I will not tell you why my master requires the orb, but I will tell you that he is someone who is close to you…. very close. He has watched you for a long while now, and still is."

"Who?" Peter asked hastily. "Who is he?"

The robotic assassin took another step, nearly touching the panel. "You will find out soon enough."

At this, Grimlock turned around and jumped through the glass panel as if it were nothing, his cape flowing in the wind behind him.

"NO!" Peter shouted, as he lunged himself to the edge.

The Nova Corp and Guardians looked over the edge, to find Grimlock's shape disappear inside a Kree Starship, which closed it's open canopy, and flew away. Peter, Rocket and their Nova Corp allies attempt to shoot it down, but their attempts inevitably didn't do anything to cease the ship's course to space.

The Captain's lips curled, and he punched the wall beside him an stomped his foot in anger. "Dang it! We lost them, we lost the orb!"

Peter and Rocket both exchanged grave glances, and Gamora stared up at the escaping ship, fear clearly visible in her eyes. She knew just as well as the rest of the team did that the orb was important above all else, and now that it was in enemy hands, who knows what would happen now.

Royce looked back at Peter and everyone else. "Follow me, we need to talk to Prime. _Now_!" the captain urged them, walking back towards the exit hastily.


	8. Planning and Discovery

**Apologizes for the wait. Homework attack lately. :/ But here's the chapter!**

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**Chapter 8: Planning and Discovery**

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Peter Quill walked out from the doorway of the Nova Corp outpost.

Rocket and the team didn't hesitate to approach him following this.

"Well?" Rocket asked impatiently, "what'd she say?"

Peter's expression told him it all. "What do you think? The orb's taken, AGAIN, rodent! Prime is not cool with this, and frankly, I'm not either!" He walked with his hands wrapped around the back of his head. "She's up my ass, to put it lightly."

Gamora walked up to stand beside him. "How could you let him take it?" she demanded angrily.

Peter frowned. "What do you mean me? Hey, you guys were helping too!" he protested.

"That doesn't matter Peter, you had him, right there! Why did you not try to kill him?" Gamora pushed.

The Terran looked back at her and let out a laugh of disbelief. "Uh, hello! Have you met the guy? He nearly killed, ALL 6 of us back at capital of Xandar! Not to mention, he ganked 5 other Xandarian soldiers himself, and took the orb, just like Ronan did!"

"That is not the only reason," Gamora interrupted him, "he knows you Peter. I want to know how. How does this- machine know you?" She looked down at Rocket, then at Sam. "How does he know, YOU even?"

Rocket shrugged and tossed his arms in the air, making the Assassin glare at him. "Hey, don't look at me! I ain't got a clue why the stalker knows any of us."

Drax looked puzzled. "What is a stalker?" he asked the Raccoon.

Gamora glared over in his direction. "This is not the right time for this!" she snapped, before returning her gaze to the two she was talking to.

"As I was saying, I don't know how he knows either of you, but I do know this: He knows you all somehow. I don't know if it's because you're withholding information from me, or if he knows you for other reasons beyond my understanding."

Peter whistled. "I counted about six 'knows' in that sentence," he commented.

Gamora opened her mouth to rebuke him, but sighed deeply in frustration, before storming off back to the Milano. "You are despicable Quill!" she shouted back to him.

Rocket, clicking his tongue repeatedly, walked up beside him, and shook his head several times in disapproval. "Not too lucky with the ladies, eh Quill?" he remarked, grinning up at him like an idiot.

Peter groaned and started walking back to the Milano. "I hate you sometimes…" Drax and Groot followed.

Rocket was left staring down at the ground. He shrugged, sighed, and widened his eyebrows a little with agreement. "Touché, Quill," he stated, before following them.

"Do they always argue like this?" Sam wondered with a smirk.

The gun-toting Raccoon sighed and smiled. "Those lovebirds always do," he said. "Lemme tell you, ever sense the incident with Ronan, and running the gauntlet, those two have been on and off. Mostly because number one, Quill's an idiot, and number two, Gamora's a Drama Queen."

"What's so bad about losing, an orb?" Sam asked. "I mean… it looks like just a metal stone."

Rocket thought back to it. At first, he felt the same way about the Infinity Stone. He didn't see any reason in saving the universe. For him: What was the point in saving a place you didn't care about? What was the point in saving a place, you didn't even want to live in? To be alive in? But he had saved it. He did it because- well, because Quill and everything else were the only people that had ever really been true friends to him, other than Groot.

"'Cause it ain't any regular orb, sweetheart," Rocket stated, "it's called an Infinity Stone, and all I know about it is that it could probably destroy the entire galaxy, wipe out half of it in fact."

Sam seemed baffled at this. "Wow."

"Yep, it's pretty serious stuff," Rocket continued, "and that dude Ronan, man is he a whack job-"

"Ronan the Accuser?" Sam asked. Rocket nodded. "Yeah, I know that guy. I agree with you on that, he is a real annoying idiot, that's all I have to say about him."

"He's dead now though, thank god," he murmured to Sam, "But Thanos ain't. And that's not okay."

"Yeah…. but somehow I don't think you'd do that well against Thanos without a really powerful guy helping you out. I mean, as good of an assassin as I might be, I am nothing, compared to him. I mean, he's a god, literally."

Rocket's ears pricked at this. "You're an assassin?" he echoed, sounding surprised.

Sam stopped a moment and looked at him. "Yeah. I am. Why? You don't think I'd be good enough?"

Rocket smirked. "Maybe just a little," he said, meaning to sound like a jerk, but in a playful manner.

The female glared at him clearly having not heard the playful tune in his voice. "Really? I have killed more people than the amount of bullets you could count on that extended clip of yours."

"More than 200?" Rocket asked.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Sam said with a roll of her eyes, "we have a winner!"

Rocket laughed falsely. "And you are… how old, Miss Drama Queen?"

"4 years old you dummy, 5 in 2 months!"

"That's young."

"Okay, how old are you than, Mr. Grinch?"

"6. Which is middle aged if-why-I, and the much more appropriate age to be using a gun!"

"Is not! 4 Years old is just old enough! Besides, if I were a human, I would be just shy of 30 right now!" Sam protested.

"I would be in my mid 30s right now. Your point?" Rocket chuckled mockingly.

"Ass."

The Raccoon finally decided it was time to drop it. "Relax sweetheart, I was just joking…. Geez, you're just like Quill, no fun whatsoever."

She didn't seem convinced at first, but eventually, her expression became replaced with a slowly forming smile. "In that case, what do you think of me? Do I look like I could take anyone that I have a bounty on?"

She twirled around in a circle briefly, and Rocket found himself immediately drawn to the lower half of her body….. particularly her backside, where her tail flickered attractively, as if she meant for him to look down there.

"Uh…. yeah, you look really- awesome." Rocket stuttered nervously.

"What awesome part of me exactly, were you referring to right there?"

This question immediately caught Rocket off guard, and he widened his eyes at her in disbelief, the skin underneath his fur secretly blushing red. "What?! I was not looking down there, I was simply checking you out- but not like that!" _Oh god. Rocket Raccoon, you are a Grade A idiot! She totally knows you like her now! 'Checking you out?' Couldn't you have thought of something better in a time like this?!_

Sam rose an eyebrow accusingly and the smile on her lips widened as she gave him 'the look'. "Unlikely," she stated.

"How would you know? I've seen- prettier girls than you!" _Even though that's a flat out lie. Shut up, me!_

"Hey, Romeo and Juliet, stop making out over there and get over here!" Quill's voice stopped the- somewhat of a conversation between them. "We got an orb to look for!"

Rocket was about ready to protest to Sam again, but she walked away from him, and started back to the Milano.

He ended up grumbling and groaning with frustration, before starting behind her. Still… he couldn't keep his eyes off of her rear… and he found himself not being able to stop thinking about her. Rocket had to face the facts. He obviously liked Sam, and he couldn't deny it.

* * *

"So…. My first question would be, just how in the Galaxy, do you really think you can find the orb?" Gamora asked Peter, pacing back and forth in the Milano's pilot room.

Rocket was the only other Guardian there at the time, and he really wished he could say someone else was there, but no. Now, he found himself having to listen to the two 'lovebirds' bicker over the Infinity Stone. Again. Only a year after they finished bickering over the dang orb. He knew he could leave if he wanted to, but the Raccoon- strangely enough found himself not being able to leave and actually found it intriguing to listen.

"Well, we could start with the radar sweep that the Command Center on Xandar left."

"And what good would that do? A Radar sweep only shows where their ship went ON Xandar, and they are as good as gone in space as can be," Gamora protested.

"Yeah, but…. Come look at this," Quill assured her forward, as he got to work on the control console in front of him.

Gamora sighed in reluctance and crossed her arms, as she neared the Radar Console.

Peter pointed to the screen on it. "Now, you get that the Nova Corp picked up this Metal dude's Ship on their Radar Scans, right? Well, watch this." He clicked on the moving red dot on his screen, and it changed to green. The view of the image changed, and they found it in the middle of space. "I pinged it. Or tracked it, if you would prefer," Peter explained, smiling proudly.

Gamora widened her eyes in surprise. "That's- that's incredible! You mean, that you are able to track them outside of space then?" Peter smiled and nodded. "Good," Gamora simply said, "then- keep doing what you're doing."

With that, the slick, green assassin turned, and started back down the ladder. "Right on, Starship Commander," he said with a fake salute.

Rocket rolled his eyes and sighed with boredom, before eventually following her path down the ladder. He regretted the action right away, when he ran straight into…. wait for it…

Sam.

He recoiled as if he'd been shot and flinched quickly, gasping in surprise while scratching the recent goosebumps off of his neck. "Shit!" he gasped, growling slightly after realizing she'd scared him fully.

Sam just continued smiling at him, her tail flickering freely behind her. "Rocket, you don't have to keep standing their like an idiot and trying to hide. I know you like me."

_Holy guaiac-mole! She does know!_ Rocket's mouth gapped in protest immediately. "What?! Why would you even begin to think, that thought? What makes you think I like you even the slightest bit?" he insisted.

The female frowned, then laughed, before smiling again. "Uh- I'm sorry, have you met you yet? More importantly, have you seen yourself when you're talking to me? You practically can't keep your eyes off me, and don't talk straight the minute you look at me!"

"How do you know if I was faking it?" Rocket accused, smirking.

"Please," Sam snorted, "out of all excuses, that's the one you pick? Sorry, not buying it lover boy."

"Well- well- Why would I like you to begin with? You're sooooo annoying, and you are such a drama queen!" Rocket pointed out. _"Oh, my name's Sam, I like to make fun of people and call them names, and I get mad at everything everyone says!"_ Rocket mocked in a high-pitched voice.

"I do not! And I do not sound like that!" she retorted.

"You do too!"

"I do not!"

"You do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"You do!"

"I do NOT!" she growled.

Rocket smiled again. "You know, you're adorable when you're angry like that," he smirked.

Sam scoffed. "Jerk."

"Drama Queen," Rocket shot back.

"Mr. Grinch." Sam retorted.

"Whiny."

"Dummy."

"Instigator!"

"Psycho!"

"Witch!"

"Asshole!"

"Wannabe!"

"Pervert!"

Rocket paused. "Pervert?" he echoed with a laugh. "What evidence do you have to accuse me of being that, of all insults?"

"The way you look at me."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Except that you're a stalker and a drooling freak," Sam shot back.

"But that doesn't make me a pervert necessarily."

"Uh- yeah it does."

"It does not!"

Sam gritted her teeth and huffed at him, clenching her fists. "Argh! You little- I'm done with you! I was just trying to say that I liked you too, but apparently you're too much of an ass to care that I do."

As the female turned to walk away, Rocket facepalmed himself and smirked. "Sam, I would've though you of all people would know that I was just kidding!" he called after her, the amusement echoing in his voice freely.

Sam continued walking for a moment, but then stopped, now taking in what he'd been saying. She stood there for a few moments, letting everything sink in, before sighing, and walking back to Rocket.

"You're a real jerk, you know that?" she remarked.

"True," Rocket admitted with a smirk.

"And you are an instigator."

"That is also true," Rocket said, rolling his eyes, as he remembered Drax's same similar sounding words on Knowhere.

"And you are a pervert."

"That is also tru- wait, WHAT?!"

"But you are sweet."

A grin slowly appeared on his counterpart's face, and faster than Rocket could react, she leaned forward, and kissed him on the check.

Kissed, _HIM_!

His heart leaped to dangerous levels, and his fur bristled as his face blushed madly, and for those few seconds, Rocket though he might have the worst heart attack in history of heart attacks.

"And I still like you," Sam smirked, before walking by him, planting another kiss on his cheek as she did so, leaving Rocket in the dust.

The Raccoon couldn't bring himself to move or speak, as he stood in the same spot, his mouth gapped still, and his mind still trying to process what had happened.

Sam had kissed him.


	9. Addicted to you

**A/N Figured it was a good time for an early chapter. XD After all, Spring Break is finally here, meaning more time to write! **

**As always, enjoy the chapter, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments and reviews!**

**To Travis: Your apology is accepted. You may still review, just be careful what you say, alright?**

**Note: Title of this chapter was inspired by song that'd come on the radio today. Just made me think of Sam and Rocket. **

* * *

**Chapter 9: Addicted to You**

* * *

The next day passed by. But just not as easily for Rocket as it had for the team.

He'd been stuck in the middle of the night debating on what had happened with Sam, and that little show she and him had put on, ending with her mouth touching his cheek… and it sure as heck wasn't by accident either. She did like him, just as Rocket felt towards her, and they both knew it. Now, all Rocket wanted to know was: What happened now? Did they just magically fly off into love together, or was there more? Would he get anywhere near Sam, considering what had happened the day before, or would she play hard to get?

The Raccoon woke up with these exact thoughts in his head, and even as he stumbled into the hallways of the Milano, wearing his usual orange jumpsuit, but this time, without Groot following him as he usually did each morning. This time, he ended up finding Sam outside his doorway, her smile widening as Rocket stepped into her field of vision, and her foot tapping patiently. The male himself smiled back, this time, with them both knowing the reasons for it, and approached her casually and slowly. He'd kissed a person before, but he'd just never had the pleasure of kissing another Raccoon that was just liked him. Now…. now would be his chance to see what it would be like.

"Hey," Rocket said.

"Hey you," Sam said, still smiling as he casually approached her.

Rocket leaned in forward, revealing his intentions, but Sam did the complete opposite of what he'd thought she would do, and maneuvered away from his face. Discouraged, the male Raccoon squinted at her in confusion and brought up his arms in protest.

"What? What was that for?" he asked aloud, sounding somewhat confused and a little hurt.

She smiled shyly and wagged her finger at him several times. "Ah, ah, ah! Not yet Romeo, we haven't gotten that far yet."

"What are you talking about?" Rocket was clueless at this point. _She'd better not be one of those girls…._

"You haven't earned that privilege yet," Sam replied casually with a smirk, "if you want some sugar, you need to get the other ingredients to make it all work out together."

He scoffed a little. "In other words, I ain't good enough for yah?"

"No you idiot!" Sam facepalmed and laughed, "What I'm trying to say is that I am trying to decide if I really want to go that far! I've only known you for what- two days? That's not nearly enough time to get to know someone. Of course I like you, it's just that I need to figure out if I _want _to go farther with you."

Rocket crossed his arms and grumbled with disappointment. "Fine. But how do you suppose we get to know each other better? Go on a date? Sorry Sweetheart, but we aren't exactly in the best of all places to do that at. So what exactly else is there to do?"

Just then, a bright smile appeared on her face. "Well…. there is one thing I thought we could start by doing. Where can a girl get a drink around here?"

The question took Rocket somewhat by surprise. He did have an interest in drinking, and so did Quill, but a girl like Sam? He never thought any girl would dig the idea of drinking hard liquor.

But in this cases, he liked that she did.

Rocket slowly found a smile creeping up onto his face. "Well… if we're talkin' 'bout the same kind of drink, then follow me."

He led Sam directly to the Living Quarters, along the way secretly hoping Groot wasn't still lurking around that area. They passed by Drax's room, where Rocket could hear the faint sound of his curved dagger being sharpened- something that the behemoth did in his free time commonly. "Behind the Lion's Den," Rocket smirked, stopping at Drax's doorway for a moment, before continuing to another door near his. Sam appeared amused at his interpretation of Drax being, "The Lion's Den."

"So…. let me guess, this is your room, right?" She asked, as they reached the metal doorway.

Rocket nodded. "Yeah, it is. Y- you don't have a problem with that, do you?" he stuttered, seeming a little worried that she'd be weirded out by this.

After all, it's not every day you ask your girlfriend- or whoever Sam considered herself to be to him at the time, to come to your room for a drink.

"No, but… don't you have a real place where you guys get drinks at- like a kitchen area or something?" Sam questioned.

"We do," the Raccoon admitted, "but eh- I don't want Quill or anyone else to see me with you. Too much activity, yah know? Plus, I ain't exactly a people person, trust me. You ask any clown on this tin can, they'd tell you the same junk."

"Why not?" Sam asked calmly, raising her eyebrows suspiciously, "you're not afraid of telling the hummie that you like me, are you?"

"NO!"

Sam kept staring at him, clearly unconvinced.

"Well-" he sighed in defeat. "Yes." Rocket grumbled miserably and rubbed his face with his paw.

"Come on, Rocket, it's not that bad if your stupid friends know!" Sam insisted, hitting his shoulder. "Besides, we aren't that far yet."

"Not that bad?" Rocket laughed falsely, in disbelief. "Do you know how much Star-Dork will torment me about it, if he knew I liked you even the slightest bit? Not two days, not two months, not two weeks, FOREVER!"

He closed his mouth quickly and looked around, and realizing that he'd risen his voice a little too loudly, he continued in a quieter tone.

"The point I'm making, Sweetheart, is that I like you, I really do. Heck, I like you a lot! But I'd honestly rather we keep it in incognito mode to prevent the kid from getting on my case!" he whispered frantically.

"You're gonna have to tell him eventually though, Rocket!" Sam said with a big shrug of her shoulders, "you do realize that, right?"

Rocket's tail cringed at the thought, and he gritted his teeth a little as he thought about it for a moment. He knew she was more than right about that. Nothing stayed behind Quill's back for long, especially not on HIS, ship. If anything, it was only a matter of time before Peter found out about their 'Romeo and Juliet' developing. Besides, as the two did start to get more intimate and close, they would clearly become more noticeable to Quill, therefore making them lesser and lesser oblivious to the Terran.

He ended up sighing, and touched the green 'open' button on the door handle of his room.

"Whatever. Let's have that drink we were talkin' about," he suggested, wanting to change the subject.

They then both proceeded into his room- which truthfully, wasn't the most organized one in the universe, but it was clean enough that Rocket was comfortable with it. Surprisingly enough, Rocket actually did care about the condition and degree of cleaness it was in…. mostly because he didn't want to have to go through the whole process of having to clean his room over, and over, and over again, just so he could step over he piles of junk that had been accumulating in his room just months ago.

A small square shaped- yet human-sized bed sat idle in the middle of the room, the covers scrambled a little from the Raccoon getting up so quickly in the morning. And it was also the site of his unfortunate and embarrassing moment in front of Sam when she'd come to wake him up. A shiny, metal red night stand sat next to his bed, where Groot's old pot still lied from when he'd been a little root being reborn. Next to that was a small photo of Rocket and Groot in their full combat gear. In the photo, Rocket was smiling brightly and proudly, with his Modified Machine Gun propped on his shoulder, as he stood next to Groot, who was frozen in the photo in mid-hand waving, also smiling warmly as he always did. Other than Rocket's bed, there was Groot's dark little comfort corner over by the dressers, which he always liked to stay at whenever he went to bed. Whenever he went to sleep, Groot usually ever just created a cradle of roots over himself and form a little wooden ball inside it. But since he'd done this so many times in the past before, the corner is practically a tree haven, and is LITTERED with roots, which luckily have not overgrown to his ceiling which would have driven Rocket absolutely insane.

A few feet away from Sam, a metal table with several stools attached to the ground sat diagonal from the bed, with many different mechanical components that Rocket had used to tinker with countless times spread across it. They were used for bombs, weapons, miscellaneous items- heck, Rocket could never keep track of what he was using- and instead, he just settled for making whatever the heck he could come up with using what he had with him at the time.

At the other side of his bed, several dressers- some unopened in the haste of the morning rush, stood side by side each other in a neat line against the wall. He never really kept much in them though- just a clean copy of the same orange jumpsuit, with the exception that he sometimes changes to black once in a while.

Rocket settled for the table with the crafting items. He brushed aside a path so Sam could sit down beside him, moving bits of metal down along with the rest of items. "Uh- um, don't mind the mess here just- lemme, get this crap out of the way."

The female examined the things that were on the table as he did this, and moved to pick up a small black object with metal prongs sticking out of it. It made a small buzz noise as she did so.

"What's this?" she asked, scratching her head a little.

The male Raccoon's eyes literally jumped out of his head at the sight of her holding the object, and he snatched it from her paws. "PUT THAT DOWN!" he ordered, talking louder than he meant to.

Sam glared at him and opened her jaw. "Okay, jeez, you could've just asked!" she whined.

Rocket's gaze still held the same harsh expression for a few minutes, until his expression slowly started to fall back to realization. He sighed and nodded apologetically.

Rocket hated when people touched his things, and didn't like when anyone put a finger on them. But Sam hadn't known that about him.

"I'm sorry. It's just- that thing you were holding, was a new electric plug I was trying to make. Didn't turn out too good, and- let's just say it doesn't work the best. That's why I wanted you to put it down. So you didn't get electrocuted," Rocket added quickly, his face still showing signs of guilt.

Sam's face softened at this, and she slowly shook her head, blinking her eyelashes a few times. "It's fine," she huffed, "I just didn't know what it was."

The furry face of Rocket's beamed a little. "Yeah, not many people get what the heck I make. Not even I know sometimes."

Rocket sat up and retrieved two blue bottles marked: _Kryptoid, _from the small square-like refrigerator next to the table they sat at, and gave one to Sam. She smiled and nodded in gratitude, before un-bottling the top and taking a sip.

"So….. you're a mechanic then?" she asked with a laugh.

"And you're an assassin?" Rocket retorted playfully. Before she could reply, he quickly said, "yeah, I'm sort of the team mechanic I guess you could say. But I also bring the big guns to the table too, so I guess that would make me a demented handyman and a psychotic weapon specialist all in one package."

Sam smirked. "That sounds pretty accurate."

"Hey! I'm not the one who has to mouth off at everything someone says or does."

She started to glare at him. Rocket laughed. "Hold yah horses, I'm just kidding!"

When they were both casual again, and after a few more minutes of drinking their beverages, their conversation picked up again.

"I never really got to ask," Rocket started, "what's like being an assassin? I mean, what? Do you just stab people in the back and get paid, then, Poof, end of story, the end?"

"It's not all that simple," Sam replied after a moment of thinking, "I need to take the time to check out if they are really worth killing. Like, if they are good people or not."

Rocket looked stunned at this, and his sudden change of expression caused her to roll her eyes.

"Oh come on! I'm not all that heartless! I have feelings too! You don't think I don't care about who I'm about to smoke? That I'm just some careless witch? I might run my mouth sometimes, but that doesn't make me completely bad."

"No, I just think it's a little surprising is all. I know you have a heart, it's just that- I never figured you for the kind of person to care that much about who you are killin'," Rocket insisted.

"Well, I think it's important. I kill people without thinking twice, that's the first impression everyone gets when they look at someone like me. But that's not true about _all _assassins. Me personally? I look at evidence. Get what I can from my clients who hire me to gank 'em, and I don't take the bounty or job unless I get the bounty's entire bio. If they are just as bad as the client says they are, the bounty gets ganked! If they aren't all that bad, or if the client doesn't give me the bio, they don't get ganked! My policy is simple: No bio, no proof. And no bio equals no Bounty getting-"

"Ganked, I get it," Rocket finished impatiently, rolling his eyes, with his chin propped on one of his hands on the table. "So, you're kinda like an angel of death's what your sayin', right? Am I missing anything else?"

"Nah, I guess you could say that." Sam took another step of her drink. "If you don't mind me asking, have you had another girlfriend before?" she asked curiously.

The Male Raccoon thought a moment, carefully constructing his answer til he could come up with a sensible reply. "Uh…. yeah, I had two before. But we just never got that far before, so… I'm still the V word."

Hearing this made Sam widen her eyes a little and laugh, nearly chocking in the middle of taking a small sip of her drink. "YOU, of all people are a Virgin?"

"He- hey!" Rocket protested. "It's not exactly biologically normal for somethin' small like me to be- doin' that with somethin' that likes 6 Feet tall! Besides, and you aren't a Virgin?"

"Actually, I'm not." Sam stated firmly. "As of two years ago."

"And I don't suppose it was with another- _thing like me,_ by chance, was it?" Rocket was crossing his arms now in defense.

"That's my personal business," Sam told him bluntly, "somethin' you don't need to know."

The small glint and hesitation in her eyes told him otherwise. Just from the way she looked, Rocket could tell that she was hiding something. Was that guilt in her eyes? Shame? _Just drop it Rocket, she's right, _he thought to himself, _that ain't your business, and you ain't got no right to pry like that either! You're just being paranoid._

With that thought in the back of his head, Rocket forced himself to beam at her, and nodded his head vigorously in reply. "Alright, alright then, you're an independent woman, that's fine with me, I can deal with it," he said in a calm, high pitched tone of voice.

By this point, they were both just about finished with their drinks, and Rocket- by some miracle, was not drunk, like he usually became whenever they had any sort of alcohol.

Rocket placed his bottle back down on the table. "My turn to ask a question then, I guess?"

His interest gleamed back at him cheerfully. "Unless you want me to know everything about you, without you knowing anything about me."

_Wouldn't you like that? _Rocket's face stayed straight, doing his best not to crack a grin at the amusing thought. "Where exactly are you from? The middle of nowhere?" he decided to ask.

"Add a K before the N, and you're pretty much spot on," Sam replied nonchalantly, propping her elbow on the table.

At this, Rocket raised an eyebrow in shock. "You're from Knowhere?"

Sam did her famous roll of the eyes, just as she usually did. "You find everything about me to be a surprise, don't you? To answer your question, yes- well, technically no, if you see it the way I do."

"Technically? What do yah mean by, 'technically?'" Rocket repeated curiously, his fluffy tail flickering behind him casually, while also occasionally brushing across Sam's, which actually felt good to him- though he didn't want to admit it.

She set down her Krpytoid after finishing off the last of it, and exhaled coolly, turning her attention to Rocket again.

"Let me put it to you this way: When you wake up in an escape pod with no idea how the heck you ended up on a mechanical dump, how can you really tell where you were from in the first place?" Sam pointed out.

"Escape pod?" Rocket said aloud, staring at her in awe. "So what- did you come from some evil, crazy Doctor's starship or somethin'?"

"Rocket, I just told you, I don't know! That's the thing!" Sam squeaked in annoyance, her fur starting to bristle with frustration, and her voice slightly starting to rise. "I don't know how I landed on Knowhere in the first place, I don't know how I know how to do the things I'm able to do, and you want to know the most ridiculous thing of all? I have NO idea, how I even got this oversized black vest in the first place!"

"It's a jumpsuit, Sam, just like the one I'm wearing."

"Whatever," Sam groaned, "that's not the point. My point, is that I don't know where in god's name I came from, or who I even am! All I can remember is my name…." she lowered her voice and put her hands on her head, sighing stressfully.

Rocket's eyes darted to the ground, then to Sam, then repeated the process a moment, trying to make sense of the situation, and realizing what she'd said.

He also realized something else: She was no different than him. A Raccoon. A mutant. With no memory of how she came to be, no memory of being a kid, or a pre-teen, or remembering any moment of her early life.

Or how she just happened to have suddenly appeared on Knowhere, in an escape pod, with no way or remembering how she'd gotten there.

The male Raccoon sighed and placed a paw on his face, while looking away from Sam. "I'm a cyborg yah know."

Sam jolted up from her arms and looked up at him, but Rocket couldn't see her expression, and didn't want to. He continued, though it pained him to do so.

"I- I ain't just a- _Raccoon, _that word Quill calls us," Rocket admitted sadly, his voice faltering, forcing him to slowly say and form his words. "I'm a machine." He looked over and dared to meet her sad expression. "And I got no idea how _I_ got this way neither. For the first- two was it? No- _three year_s, of my life, I don't remember anything about what happened during those a thousand or so days. But you want to know what I do remember?" Rocket looked away from her, his eyelids starting to feel heavy. "The pain. Every minute of it…. the sounds of these- big machine thingies spinning, digging into my skin, my fur, my bone, ripping me apart…. but then, the fun part comes when I get put back together, and it happens again. And again, and again. And the sucky part is, I don't even remember what caused all that junk to go down."

Rocket Raccoon felt a wet drop desperately trying to leave his tear ducts within his eyes, as he closed his eyelids and turned a full three-sixty degrees away from the female. This was it. There was no way she'd feel anything for him now. He was a freak. A metal, deranged, psychotic, rude, ruthless, cyborg and freak. And the list went on, he was sure of it. Quill knew it, Gamora knew it, Drax knew it- Groot probably knew it too. Rocket? He always knew. Now Sam did too.

But just then, when all hope seemed lost, he felt a small paw brush his face from behind, and a tail flickering and slowly twirling around his. Of course, he knew it was Sam.

"I knew you were a cyborg."

Rocket sniffled and gulped as he quickly turned around to face her, hoping his eyes were not showing any signs of visible tears. "Ya- you knew? How did you-"

"I knew after the wall slam, back at the Capital on Xandar," Sam said quietly. "I saw the metal on your back when your skin made that little dent." She gingerly gestured to the back of his jumpsuit, where a little hole had been created in it. "But I don't care if you are."

"What?! How can you not care?" Rocket asked aloud, "I'm a freak! Look me in the eye and tell me I'm not!"

"You're not," she told him firmly. "And listen, I could care less if you're some perverted animal-slash-machine. Just because you're not fully Raccoon doesn't make you any less likable." She smirked flirtatiously and punched his shoulder briefly. "Except for the fact that you can be a total jerk-off sometimes!" she added playfully.

The Raccoon sniffled again and finally found the will to smile back at her. "Only 'cuz you're a drama bomb 24/7."

She nudged him a little in the side. "There, that sounds a little more like the furry jerk I know." She sighed and laid her head against her hand. "But seriously, thanks for saying that to me. You know, you actually made me feel a lot better now…."

Rocket's nose started to tickle as Sam's tail started to sail across the roof of his nose and across his face. He avoided it awkwardly, but at the same time, enjoyed the fresh smell of her fluffy tail. Sam's smile turned seductive, and her eyes sparkled attractively at Rocket.

"And I think I know you well enough now that I'm okay with moving to the next level," Sam whispered to him.

Rocket's eyes widened at this, but he settled his expression and grinned, settling himself as she slowly moved in on him.

"Hahahaha…. somehow, I think I like the sound of that."

"Just shut up and come here you darned pervert," Sam whispered with a returned grin.

The female Raccoon moved her face closer to his for a moment, hesitating a second and gradually starting to close the distance between their faces. A satisfied Rocket Raccoon moved his mouth closer to hers, and Sam puckered her lips as they nearly touched his. Rocket moved his arms around her slowly, when their lips where only just starting to touch. And then…..

"I am Groot?"

Rocket nearly jumped out of his pelt and flew out of his metal chair at the sound of the tree's familiar voice, and Sam gasped loudly in shock, as they both quickly retreated to their own seats.

"SWEET MOTHER OF KINGDOM COME!" Rocket shouted in panic, not necessarily caring about his indirect choice of religious vocabulary- seeing the large tree come out of hiding from his corner. "GROOT! REALLY MAN?!"

_Of course he would be in his corner! _Rocket thought to himself. _Why didn't I think to look THERE, of all places for him?_

Groot smiled and shrugged, rumbling with light laughter. "I am Groot." He pointed to both Sam and Rocket.

"Well- you could've at least LEFT, the room, instead of barging on my privacy!" Rocket stated. "I mean, damn Groot, do you like watching that kind of stuff, or are you a natural Peeping Tom?"

"Yeah!" Sam chimed in, glaring at the tree as her fur bristled furiously with anger and embarrassment, "what's the big idea you dumbass?"

Groot frowned and crossed his arms. "I am Groot!" he stated defensively to both of them.

Rocket clenched his teeth and pointed at Groot accusingly. "You were not sleeping there, stop lyin' you dumb behemoth. And we- we were not about to, 'make love' Groot- my god, where do you get this stuff from? Never mind, don't tell me, I don' wanna know! But don't lie man, I know you were tryin' to get a peek at some of the action, don't you dare deny it!"

The immense tree-like humanoid shrugged again and his wooden face formed a straight expression "I am- I am Groot!" he hesitated on saying, waving his hands in front of his face in denial.

The hot-head Raccoon huffed and scoffed at his friend. "Whatever. You'd just better not say nothin' to Peter, or believe me, Groot, you're not gonna have any leaves on any of those branches by the time I'm done roastin' you!"

"I am Groot."

"Well…. true that, Star-Dork doesn't exactly know what you're sayin' most of the time," Rocket admitted, making Sam nod along in agreement. He glared back at his friend, and waved his finger at him. "But you'd still better keep your lips sealed, Groot! I mean it!"

Groot make a line across between his upper and lower lip with his tree branch and nodded in confirmation. "I am Groot," he said with a sly smile.

Rocket rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, whatever, just get outta here."

But Groot stayed where he was, and looked up at the digital clock above Rocket's doorway. He pointed at the ticking device, and said, "I am Groot."

Rocket noticed the time and groaned. "Ah…. You're right." He looked back at Sam and gestured her forward. "Come on, looks like it's lunchtime for us right about now."

With that, the three walked out of Rocket's room… along the way, bearing a new secret that Groot now had to keep.

All they had to hope for was that he would keep it that way.


	10. Hunter and Hunted

**A/N I know, early chapter. :p But like I said: Spring BREAK! XD**

**Anyhow, enjoy the chapter folks. Let me know if I made any spelling mistakes, because I did type this up fairly quickly.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Hunter or Hunted**

* * *

_**Location: Classified**_

_**Approximate Depth Level: 200.67 Feet underground (Currently Descending at rapid rate.)**_

_**Current Universal Time: 01:00:05**_

Grimlock examined the bold words in italics that appeared on his helmet's H.U.D, as the metal elevator around him hummed and whirred mechanically and as he waited for the box-like structure to deliver him to his destination patiently.

Then the noises came to a sudden halt, and the two automatic steel doors in front of him slowly opened. The robotic assassin walked into the room, where he was immediately greeted by the sight of a line of armored Kree soldiers, who all stood along and around the perimeter of the computerized room. Indeed, there was much technology to be seen in the room. Computers blinked, test tubes glowed, and even larger versions of test tubes buzzed with life of all sorts of specimens- some…. some looking beyond the realm of imagination.

Of course, what did he expect see in this room? It was only the 3rd level of his master's amazing 'estate', as he liked to call it often. And it was called the Lab for a reason.

Grimlock casually walked into the room, not at all reacting to the presence of the many armed soldiers around him, if not that, Grimlock was oblivious to seeing them at all it seemed.

Above him, the wall out in front of him projected the bold face of his client.

"Do you have what I have ordered you to retrieve?" The voice boomed throughout the Science Lab like the god of thunder.

The Robot nodded obediently, and reached into his Cloak pocket. "I have what you requested from me…." It was at that moment, that Grimlock beheld the orb containing the Infinity Stone in front of his gaze. "But know that you will not receive what you have asked for until my master has the Raccoon and Peter Jason Quill. He may have put me under your command, but I am still under strict orders not to give you the orb until-"

"YES," the man said aloud in annoyance, his voice spitting bitterly, "I am aware that your, _master, _wants the boy and those two- _things…. _and he shall have what he wants… so long as the foolish man keeps to his promise about the exchange, that is."

"My Master tells no lies, Emperor," Grimlock echoed deeply, giving him the evil eye with his red beads dilating. "And he is plenty capable of dealing with you, and over a hundred Kree soldiers if you are to not honor our deal."

The mysterious client smiled smugly.

"Humph! Somehow I highly doubt that a Robotic Humanoid and a stubborn old shape-shifter are capable of those threats of the sort…. When of course, I have hundreds of my loyal troops at your disposal, which I can easily turn on you at any time."

"With all due respect Emperor, numbers mean nothing to us."

From behind Grimlock, the sound of the elevator descending started to resume while they talked.

Someone else was coming down too...

Grimlock noticed this and took a small glance back towards the piece of transportation, before abruptly looking back at the image of his client on the wall, with a look of suspicion in his eyes.

"Am I supposed to be expecting a visitor…. Emperor?" he inquired calmly.

The Client smiled and propped his head on his two hands, while rubbing his purple chin favorably. "Do not fear, Grimlock, I am sending another asset to guide you in the retrieval of our three persons of interest. Let us just say that he was… quite close with one of the people you seek. However, do not be fooled by his size, he is very dangerous and extremely capable of dealing with these fabled… Guardians of the Galaxy. Use him wisely."

The elevator came to a sudden halt at the third floor.

"Oh and before I take my leave…. do mind his personality. The little furry thing is quite…. Arrogant and has a killer's nature. Do be careful please, as he may be hard to contain from ending your persons of interests' life."

Grimlock bowed again, before turning to the elevator, just as the screen behind him went blank. "Yes my lord."

"Do not fail me…. The orb will be mine."

Those were the last words Grimlock heard, before the elevator doors opened.

A small, furry figure emerged from the inside of the elevator, it's red tail sweeping behind it, but it's entire body not fully visible sense it hasn't stepped into the light yet. It looked to be roughly about 3 Feet tall- slightly taller than the Raccoon it seems, and the lifeform also looked to have a single, red, glowing eye. It brightly glowed in the dark, revealing small features of the creature's fur. The figure took another step forward, revealing a black boot, and it's handsomely customized weapon: A combination of a Laser Rifle and a Grenade Launcher.

"I hear you are our new ally that our client has recently sent us," Grimlock droned firmly, "is this new information accurate?"

The figure paused a moment, and its red eye dilated, just as Grimlock's did when focusing on one particular object. "Yeah…" a gruff voice replied, "yeah, that's right, I'm your guy."

Grimlock nodded. "Very good. You will be working for me until your job is complete, I hope you realize this, and I will not be satisfied until you do complete your task assigned. Are we clear in understanding each other?"

The furry figure nodded. "Crystal," he confirmed.

"May I ask your name, lifeform?"

The figure lifted his boot and stepped into the light, revealing a well-built Red Fox, wearing a duster with grenade bandolier- and he had one, mechanical red eye. The fox grinned maliciously, making him look even more frightening along with the replaced eye he had.

"The name's Deadshot." He stared up at Grimlock and continued grinning, as he pumped back the safety on his customized weapon, causing it to whine(a signal meaning the Laser Rifle is ready to fire.). "And I'm ready ta go to work."

* * *

Rocket sat back in his chair- now having obliterated his entire lunch, and sighed with satisfaction as he bended over the back of his chair and stretched out his small, slender body, his eyes closed as he slowly sunk back into his seat with a wide yawn.

A pleased grin was built into the Raccoon's face, and he opened his mouth and belched loudly, (One that seemed abnormally loud for a living organism as small as himself…..) a result of him finishing his water bottle so quickly.

Gamora shot a disgusted look at him from across the table and curled her nose in disregard of his process of releasing gas.

"Disgusting men," she muttered, sticking her big, fat nose in the air, "as usual."

"I am Groot!" Groot stated from the table behind them.

A snort sounded from within Rocket. "Tell me about it, buddy."

Peter let a laugh at hearing Gamora and Groot's comments and Rocket smirked, while Sam just kept struggling to keep a straight face as she chewed a mouthful of potato chips, secretly finding what Rocket did to be just as gross as Gamora thought it to be.

"Nice one, Rocket!" Peter praised him. Then he wrinkled his nose a little, and in a more judgmental tone of voice, he continued, "but I still wouldn't rate that a 10…. I'd only give it about a 7."

He saw the Raccoon glare daggers at him and scoff. "And you think you could do betta', Twinkle Toes?" he challenged him.

The half-human didn't falter; instead, raising an eyebrow with equal completion sparkling in his eyes as he snatched a large water bottle from the center of the table. "You're on, Rocky-Road."

Peter wretched the cap from the bottle and tossed it aside, before opening his mouth and literally inhaling its liquidly contents. He then tossed the water bottle aside, and put one finger up as if telling the group to wait, before an even louder belch erupted from within him.

Rocket, Groot, and even Drax all applauded this and cheered for him wildly in a mixture of laughing and whooping noises, while Gamora just sat there and shook her head silently at their gross source of entertainment.

Peter bowed, smiling like he'd just won a 1st place medal in the Olympics. "Thank you, thank you all ladies and gentlemen!" he said in a deep, over-exaggerated voice.

Rocket, still stuck in a fit of giggles, nudged Sam with his elbow from across the table playfully. "Come on, Sweetheart! Lighten up!" he urged her, making his voice sound firm to avoid drawing anyone's attention about him talking to her.

Sam smiled a little and looked down at the ground- not wanting him to see her face. "You are sooooo gross, Rocket. That is undignified!" she squeaked, not meeting his eyes, but making her amusement clearly visible in her voice.

Straight across from Rocket, the half-human bounty hunter smirked at Rocket's attempt at communication with her.

"Don't listen to her, Ranger Rick. She and Gamora are no fun," Peter stated.

Drax nodded in agreement. "Agreed, companion. Women are often not easily amused by such things… at least, not as amused as the opposite gender is by the little things that happen in life, much less the obnoxious things." He smiled stupidly and directed a pointed look a Gamora.

The Green Assassin could be seen raising her eye brows and frowning at the muscular man. "I suppose that statement is directed at me? We females only think those things because you ignorant males, _change, _simple things into disgusting metaphors of humor," she argued.

A certain female Raccoon watching the scene sighed as her tail flickered lazily behind her. "At least someone still has their sanity intact," she remarked.

"Yeah, 'Mora, I think that was meant for you," Rocket interrupted. Turning to Drax, he added, "Well said big guy. For once."

Peter clapped several rapid times in succession. "Bravo, bravo!" he praised them in a sing-song voice, "now take it to the courtroom!"

"If we're doin' a courtroom," Rocket said, "then I'd highly recommend I be nominated to be judge in this verdict."

Hearing this made Peter falsely laugh. "Uh... never thought I'd hear 'Rocket' and 'Judge' in the same sentence. Seriously, Rocket, YOU, a judge? I'm not even gonna count what could go wrong if you were the judge in a Courtroom."

Groot smiled from the table behind Rocket. "I am Groot!" (Everything!) he called aloud.

The Raccoon sighed and glared daggers at his enormous friend. "You're askin' for it Groot!" He sighed twice and huffed out a flare of air from his nostrils. "One of these days you idiot…." He mumbled to himself.

"I am Groot." (Just remember, I sleep diagonally from you every night…. And next time we do, don't expect a very pleasant and restful nap.) The tree looked at Rocket crossly as if begging to differ and crossed his arms.

"Well something for _you, _to remember Groot, is that I sleep with a big gun right next to my bed every night. Loaded with very hot inferno rounds if I might be so kind to add, so I'd choose my next 3 words very carefully…." Rocket warned him.

Peter Quill watched their playful exchange and putting a hand on his forehead, he sighed. "I really do wish I knew how to understand you and Giving Tree's little secret language."

"And frankly Quill, I really wish I knew how you _don't _understand me and Groot's language," Rocket retorted. "It's perfectly easy for me to tell what he's saying, I don't get how you can't."

"Hey, Rocky-Road, news flash: All Groot says is: "I." "Am." And "Groot." How do you expect me to figure out what Giving Tree's trying to say if that's all he is limited to speaking?" he pointed out.

There it was again. Another stupid question that Rocket had to go through the trouble of answering. Again.

"Because I've been around him for so long, Stupid!" Rocket spat viciously, "how else do yah think I figure him out so easily? And lemme tell you, guessing or mind-reading ain't the answer."

"But if I may, my furry friend," Drax started calmly, "that still does not logically explain the reasoning of how you know what this dumb tree is actually trying to say."

"I think it's perfectly logically, Drax," Rocket insisted with another stern stare, "I mean, when you've been around Groot as long as I have, whatever he says pretty much sticks after a while, I dunno how else to explain it."

"Perhaps you hit your head a little too hard when you were an infant, and now you hear words that you are imagining as a result of the concussion?" Gamora offered, smiling lightly in amusement, as she took a small bite of an apple.

"Sounds like a perfect explanation to me, actually," Peter agreed, "it would pretty much explain why Ranger Rick is such a boiling pot of water all the time, and why he acts like he belongs in a Psych Ward."

This earned an eye piercing glare from Rocket, who's fur stood up in anger, and who's tail swatted the air furiously. "Call me one more name Quill… that's all I'm going to say!" _Rodent, Vermin, Ranger Rick, Raccoon! What haven't I heard already? _

He'd gotten used to Peter calling him names by now, but he still whole-heartedly and absolutely _hated, _whenever he would call him one of them.

Partially ignoring him, Star-Lord chuckled lightly as he sat up from the table, and walked over to the ladder of the Milano, which lead up to the Pilot's seat. "Hold that thought guys, I'm gonna go check on that tracker and see if we can-"

Suddenly, a yellow siren blared for a few seconds from around the group and throughout the ship, causing Peter and his allies to stop in their current activities.

Then, that's when the Milano's intercom came on:

_*Warning: Ship fuel reaching critical level. Refill recommended as soon as possible*_

Peter groaned at the sound of this when the sirens had ceased their irritating series of noises. "Looks like we're landing on…." He checked something on a device he was holding for a moment and studied it, before looking back at the group with a straight expression.

"What?" Rocket asked impatiently. "Where are we landing at?"

"Knowhere, unfortunately."

Gamora tensed. "That is quite unfortunate."

"But if will aid us in reaching our target, than I suggest we get this obstacle out of the way as soon as possible," Drax remarked.

Peter nodded. "You know Drax…. That's the smartest thing-"

"You've said today," Rocket and Peter both said in unison.

* * *

_**Location: Outer Space – Kree Transport Ship**_

_**Approximate Location: Outskirts of Knowhere's atmosphere.**_

_**Current Universal Time: 02:32:20**_

_**Mission Details: Use whatever means are necessary to retrieve Rocket Raccoon and Peter Jason Quill, alive. Subject JP369 is not a necessity, but can be retrieved as well. She may be terminated if found necessary. Eliminate the rest of the Guardians. They are not relevant to my, or the Emperor's requests.**_

"Now, listen to my directions closely, Mister Deadshot…." Grimlock explained, as he paced back and forth across the floor of the metal ship. "Your mission details are fairly simple: Find Peter Jason Quill and Subject JP293- or as he may call himself, Rocket Raccoon."

The immense robot stopped in front of the Red Fox, who tapped his booted foot patiently for them to move on.

"Find them both, and bring them to me- ALIVE," he stated firmly. "Subject JP369 will also be present among them- another lifeform that is just as identical looking to Rocket- whom I believe you already know fairly well due to your… biography, am I correct?"

The mysterious mercenary snorted and spat on the floor of the ship, rubbing his weapon favorably and chuckled a little.

"You have no idea," he stated coldly, his voice pouring out viciously like a negative wind chill. "But yeah, I know her… betta then any of you clowns would."

"I beg to differ, Mister Deadshot," Grimlock droned deeply. "Now…. may I please continue now, without any unnecessary interruptions?" He walked straight up to the fox and looked down at the furry organism, menacingly staring into his soul.

Deadshot glared back up at him with his one- regular beady eye, and his mechanical red eye, before grunting and nodding reluctantly. "Cool off tin can, I hear you loud and clear," he mumbled deeply.

Grimlock seemed hesitant to follow a Fox's orders, but backed off a moment later, and resumed his speech as if nothing had happened between them.

"As I was saying, you may also capture JP369 if you are able to. But if she becomes too much of an obstacle… you may terminate her if necessary. Just know that my Master may not be as pleased, if you do decide to eliminate her."

Grimlock resumed pacing the floor of the ship. "I will give you command of several battalions of Kree soldiers, one of which I will be taking part In if things happen to not turn in your favor. Use them wisely. They are not invincible, especially not to these…. Guardians of the Galaxy."

The Red Fox grinned again, revealing a surprisingly shiny set of sharp, white teeth. "And whatda yah want me to do about the other guys? The Tree, that Assassin, and that maniac?"

"Kill them all." Grimlock ordered darkly.

His grin widened, and the Red Fox nodded hastily. "Gladly."

"Good. After you have finished this job, than I shall see to it that my Master allows me to pay you as a bonus to your Master paying you himself upon completion of this task. Do not fail me."

The mercenary, Deadshot, propped his weapon on his shoulder, and gleamed brightly at the behemoth robot.

"Oh, don't you worry about me my friend…." He cocked back the pump action on his customized weapon. "I will kill every one of these Guardians before you can breathe your next breath. That, I can promise you."

Grimlock nodded. "I have no doubt in my database that you will not break that promise."

With that bold move set in motion, the Guardians of the Galaxy were put in Jeopardy.

It was now the _Hunter, _becoming the _hunted._


	11. Secrets

**This will be a little bit of a fast paced chapter. Not much else to say, just enjoy the story.**

**Don't forget to : R&amp;R**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Secrets**

* * *

It'd only taken no longer than a couple of minutes for the Milano to land on Knowhere. Right from the start however- Rocket knew how crowded it would be. And knowing that himself- he wasn't surprised to find that they were not able to land exactly in a Fuel Station Space-Port, sense the Space Ports there were all full.

He watched as Peter planted a hand on his face and sigh in irritation, before returning to work on looking for a place to land.

"Looks like we're going to have to _make _our own parking spot guys," he grumbled reluctantly, giving the control lever of the ship a slight push downward.

The Milano whirred as he started to near a perfectly flat spot to land at on the surface of the planet, and right as they landed on it, Peter started to devise a game-plan.

"Alright, listen up guys," he started, "we can't make any mistakes here. This place is obviously, and can be a pit stop while we're stopping here for fuel, but I do want to remind you that this little charming piece of junk is called, 'Knowhere.' And on Knowhere, we both know how careful we gotta be about the people on this planet. So even though I'm pretty sure we all got places to be going while we're here, we, HAVE, to have a guard at this ship, at all times."

"Why a guard?" Rocket interrupted. "It's not like anyone's got the guts to mess with us around here!"

Sam gave him one of those, 'Are you serious?' looks and scoffed.

"Uh…. hello? If you've been here before, than let me tell you what you should know by now: You'd be a idiot _not, _to have a guard at your ship. Because no matter how well you construct your ship, I will tell you right now, I guarantee there are people out there right now that can get into this ship no problem. Without breaking a single window. Trust me, Rocket, I've been on Knowhere plenty of times before to know this," she insisted.

An impressed looking Gamora gave a nod in agreement and stepped forward, having unbuckled herself from her seat. "She is quite right about that one, Rocket. You know as well as any of us do that Knowhere isn't exactly the number one place to be cocky, and it is the one planet that you, _do not, _want to be cocky on. Otherwise, we will pay for it just as others have, on this gods-forbidden place."

Hearing the two females talk, Peter snapped his fingers and gave a thumbs up. "Exactly my point," he stated, "so who's going to do the guarding today?"

To not much of Rocket Raccoon's surprise, Drax the Destroyer took a step to the stand. "I shall take a stand for our beloved source of transportation," he said boldly, "no one will pass through this ship as long as I stand guard!" His hand formed a fist to go along with his strong words.

"Just try not to let any hooligans go over yah big head like metaphors do," Rocket smirked, not bothering to stop to explain as he started for the opening ship ramp.

Drax went to go open his mouth and took a step forward, but the red-skinned behemoth closed his jaw and sighed, shaking his head in confusion. "Nothing goes over my head…. I thought we'd already established that back at Klyn," he murmured.

Groot and Sam followed Rocket out the ramp, the tree stopping briefly to say something to Drax.

"I am Groot," (I'm pretty sure that was a metaphor by the way.) Groot told him with the same, warm smile he always held, before continuing to walk outside.

A few minutes after he was sure Groot had left, a still puzzled Drax mumbled, "And so continues my theory of the tree being 'dumb'."

Peter and Gamora stepped by Drax and followed the rest of the group until they were off the ramp fully. Once they were, Peter was the one to then turn to Rocket.

"So… do you guys have somewhere to be?" He eyed Rocket, then Sam suspiciously, as if studying them, smiling lightly. "You and your girlfriend you be more accurate."

The male Raccoon's first reaction was to give Peter the evil eye or to yell at him like a witch, but instead, he resisted the temptation he had to do either or those things, and went with an extremely casual and convincing act.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny Star-dork," Rocket said sarcastically, making sure his voice sounded pretty annoyed. "Besides, we're only goin' to a bar to get a quick drink. How does that make her anywhere near that close to me?" he insisted innocently, not breaking a sweat.

But Peter didn't look convinced. He avoided eye contact and averted his eyes towards the direction of the Pumping Station, still continuing to smile slyly. "Whatever you say, Cupid! Just know that I'm watching you and the lady over there!" He did the two finger eye-to-eye gesture with his hand and winked at Rocket.

Rocket sighed and shook his head several times as he started to make way for the city interior of Knowhere. Sam and Groot appeared at his sides.

"Don't listen to him, the hummie doesn't know jack about us," she assured him, looking back to Groot. "As long as our friend the tree doesn't have anything to say about it."

In reply, Rocket glanced at her, with his furry eyebrows raised. "Have I ever listened to Quill before?" he pointed glumly out as they walked.

* * *

The group of three lead by Rocket soon arrived at a Cantina- one that wasn't nearly as crowded and loud as the last one that Rocket had been inside during the business with Ronan.

The Raccoon stopped abruptly at the entrance to it and turned to Sam with a smirk. "Well…. whatdayah think? Want to stop by and get a drink?" he offered.

In reply, the female shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "Why not? A little drink's not gonna hurt anyone."

Rocket nodded in agreement and turned to Groot. "You stay out here buddy. I'll let you know when I need you, alright?"

"I am Groot!" he protested, taking a step forward as they started to walk into the bar.

The tail of Rocket swatted the air furiously as he turned back around to face Groot. "Groot, It'll be fine. I'll be fine! Stop worrying so much yah big piece of bark! I'll call you if I need you."

Groot grumbled reluctantly and frowned, crossing his tree limbs, but did as he was told. "I am Groot…" he pouted, as the two Raccoons walked into the Cantina.

Right away, Rocket found that it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been after they'd escaped Klyn. Of course, this had been the same place Rocket and his group had patiently waited at back when they were on a waiting list for Gamora's buyer, a man called 'The Collecter,' or Tannler Tivan. The only difference seemed to be that the crowds were not accumulating over the game tables, and were not roaring like a pack of hyenas over gambling bets and hard drinks. Most patrons in the Bar were simply talking indistinctly, though some not incredibly audible laughter could be heard here and there.

Rocket checked the time. _Figures, it ain't gambling time yet. _He squinted at the sign reading the times for special events and it confirmed his thoughts. At least it'd be a lot calmer for the two to simply hang out and chill. So long as the drunk punks hogging the tables near the bar stand didn't have anything smart to say about it. At least his gun would be doing the talking if they did. If anyone that was somehow present last time Rocket was here, they would know that fact very well due to his last visit.

"Wow," Sam stated unenthusiastically, "this place isn't nearly as loud as it usually is for being on Knowhere."

"That's 'cuz it ain't the time for gambling yet," Rocket remarked, pointing to the signs, "see there? When that time comes around, this place goes up in flames."

The assassin gave Rocket a knowing look, and cocked her head to the side. "Trust me Rocket," she said, "I've been here plenty of times to know how this dump works…. Know plenty of people too."

He simply responded with a small tilt of his head, as they moved towards the bartender's counter. "Guess you've been around the gauntlet a few times than, eh?"

Sam sighed. "You have no idea, Rocket."

Once the few, reached the stand, Rocket had their drinks ordered and decided to be the one to pay for them both. They sat at the stools as they waited patiently for the bartender to attend to their orders, and the two Raccoons were left in peace. It seemed to be going surprisingly smooth for being a Cantina… until their wait suddenly turned into ten minutes.

A group of rough and tumble mercenaries- either drunk or extremely overly happy by the sounds of them had entered into the bar, chattering loudly, and nearly tripping over their own feet. The group was armed with laser and plasma weapon variants of different kinds, and wore dusters and body armor that seemed awfully old fashioned or home-made-looking to Rocket, a dead giveaway that they were indeed mercenaries. While they watched the group, Rocket was given the drinks that they'd ordered finally- after an apparent and unfortunate disastrous accident with their previous order of beverages. But that wasn't what Rocket had been paying attention to.

As they loudly clamered in, Sam quickly forced Rocket to turn back around and jerked his body towards the front of the bar stand. "Do not look back there," she ordered, taking a small sip of her drink, as she averted her eyes towards the selection of drinks in the center of the marble stand.

Rocket did as she had told him, nervously taking a fast glance to the pack. "Some ol' buddies of yours?" he whispered into her ear curiously.

Sam shuffled in her seat, and continued to look away, as if pretending to look occupied with her drink. Rocket went along with it and did the same. "Hardly. Just keep looking away. Don't let them see you watching them."

"Who are they, Sam?" Rocket pushed her quietly, nudging her shoulder.

In reply to this, Sam stayed quiet, looking reluctant to talk, then sighed. "The leader is the idiot with the mowhawk, Devon," she explained in a whisper, "he and his guys are- let's just say not the friendliest people in Knowhere. More or less, more unfriendlier than most people usually are on this dump."

"So what?" Rocket whispered back frantically. "They're mercenaries! There's dozens of them on Knowhere, Sam! What makes you so damn paranoid about these dudes out of all mercenaries?"

"Nothing!" Sam snapped quietly, glaring at him briefly, then sighing again, as she took a quick and watchful look around her. "It's just that they-"

A couple of large footsteps from behind the two stopped them in their conversation.

"Well, well, look what we have here…."

Sam shot up from her stool and nudged Rocket sharply. "Time to go," she murmured firmly.

They were almost to the doorway, until they realized two large men were blocking the way out. Devon's goons most likely, Rocket realized.

Sensing that this situation wouldn't end too well, the Raccoon kept a hand readied for reaching for his weapon on his back, as he and Sam slowly turned around to face Devon.

"It's the little slut we all know as Sam," Devon stated, grinning deviously. "Didn't think I'd see you around these parts again, darling. Especially after that little incident with Maverick."

Sam's ears shot up at this, and her fur prickled straight up at the sound of the name. Her whole expression seemed to flare with anger, as did her body, and her tail which lashed across the floor out of rage, and back into the air, over and over again.

"What do you want, Devon?" she spat viciously.

A certain male Raccoon seemed highly irritated by Devon's intimidation, and started to retrieve his modified machine gun from behind him. "Boys, you might wanna back off from the lady before I teach you all-"

"Rocket!" Sam scolded him, "let me handle this!"

Hearing her command him like that, Devon laughed, and so did the rest of his drunken hooligans and mercenaries, his ugly yellow teeth showing in the process as he did so. "Wa- wait a minute, don't tell me. Is this Raccoon just another boyfriend that you're going to kill? Or is he someone else?"

Rocket was started to get heating just sitting there. He did not like when people messed with his friends. And he REALLY, didn't like when someone he really liked was getting messed with. Especially by a guy.

Sam's eyes widened at this and she snarled at him. "So what if he is a boyfriend? You have a problem with that? It's not _your _business if he is, so why are you bothering to care at all?"

The mercenary began to walk around the room nonchalantly, circling the two. "Oh….. I don't. But I think- Rocket, that his pansy name? I think he might if he knew all about what you did in the past. With Maverick."

"What happened with Maverick, was none of your business, and it never was. The past was the past, Devon, and I would think you of all the assholes in this room would be the one to know that," Sam shot back.

Rocket rolled his eyes and let out a small laugh. "Yeah! Besides, guys, newsflash: I already knew she was an assassin! What are you gonna do? Tell me she killed someone? I already know! Duh! It's what she does, and I've accepted that a long time ago!"

"She eva' tell you that she may just kill you in your sleep?" one of Devon's mercenaries said in a strange and ugly voice, grinning like a complete imbecile.

In reply, Rocket laughed. "Yeah, uh-huh, very funny buddy, using the classic jokes on me. Very funny…"

"Sure is little guy," Devon sang, "and you know what's even more funny?"

"The chicken crossing the road?" Rocket snickered.

"Not exactly. It's the fact that your little babe you're staring at right there? She killed Maverick."

"Bo-hoo!" Rocket mocked, "she killed a guy! My heart bleeds for his soul. Get outta the way yah pin heads, we ain't got time for this!" He tried to move through the two men blocking the doorway, but they pushed him back to Sam's direction.

"Not 'til story time's over, Rocky!" one of the big guys told him firmly.

"It's Rocket, bighead!" Rocket stated firmly, his fur bristling defensively.

"You know what Maverick was to Sam when he died?" Devon pushed, ignoring the Raccoon's protest. "Someone very close… just like you. He wasn't exactly your- species type, so to speak, but he was almost just like you, once upon a time." He looked back at the female merecenary and grinned, almost like he was about to reveal a secret that Sam didn't want Rocket to know about, which Rocket really hoped wasn't the case.

"Then a certain slut decided to kill him after they slept together."

Hearing this made the female Raccoon Rocket knew turn ferocious almost instantly. "That is not true!" Sam shouted. She gulped nervously and looked to Rocket with a pleading look in her sparkling eyes, and mouthed, _don't believe him! _

For a moment, Rocket was almost left in bewilderment. He started feeling as if he'd fit the pieces together, and felt frozen in place at that exact moment in time. Maybe this was why Sam had been so snippy over the subject of revealing her old flame, back at Quill's ship. Then again, she was an assassin, and a very reserved person. Normally. But to him, she'd practically been an open book. He also considered that this 'Devon,' figure could be lying. Even if it were somehow true, Sam wouldn't do that to him…. Would she? She really seemed to like him, and regarded him above the level of a friend, at least he hoped she did. Though Sam was an Assassin, she was also good-hearted it seemed despite her snippy personality. So a mercenary telling the tale of his girlfriend stabbing an old boyfriend in the back after sleeping with her? Didn't sound like a tale Rocket would find believable, unless it were a killer stripper… also an unlikely tale in his perverted mind.

After thinking this through, the Raccoon laughed again, a fake one to be more exact. "Yeah right, like I believe that. Look guys, I really admire the effort, I seriously do, but Sam's not that bad of a gal, I would know, even if I've only known her for two days," he chuckled.

"You don't think so?" Devon challenged, "my friend, every one of us and even these idjits could tell you that it's true. Every fool in Knowhere practically knows it's true, and I think you do too!"

"Okay gentlemen, I think we've talked quite enough today," Rocket decided to finally break it to them, "it's time to step aside and let us go. Now." He said the last word more firmer than the rest of his sentence.

Now he'd retrieved his Machine Gun, and had turned off its safety.

The mercenaries around the room all laughed hysterically, including the leader. "I don't think so little guy." Devon stepped forward. He unsheathed a Vibroblade from his boot and twirled it in his grasp. "Yah know, we can't have people like you and your little slut running around the galaxy, ruinin' the peace. That and- you do make it really difficult to bounty hunt around here."

A few chuckles could be heard towards the back of the Cantina as Devon's other friends unsheathed their weapons. People, including the Bartender were now starting to hide and become frightened at the scene. The Bartender was now ready to call security at this point.

"Buddy, do you need to have your ears washed out?" Rocket cocked back the trigger on his gun, his fur starting to bristle. "BACK AWAY FROM THE DAMN DOOR!" he shouted.

Sam gave him a sharp nudge in the side and grasped his shoulder. "Rocket, stop it, you don't need to do this!" she protested.

"I do!" He pushed her away lightly and glared at her a moment as if she were the enemy. He started to feel himself heat up again, unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Rocket didn't know why, but he just felt useless watching Devon break her down like this.

"I'm not gonna sit on my dang tail all day while they're pickin' on my girl like I can't do anything about it. These guys think they can just push you around like that? Then I'll teach them a lesson after a few good shots to their ugly ass faces!" He turned around and brought the handle of the gun to his shoulder, his eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched out of a sudden rush of adrenaline and rage.

As the mercenaries started to approach him however, a large figure burst through the doorway, branches swaying furiously at the two brutes blocking the entrance, Groot. Before anyone of the remaining 5 could react, Rocket rolled back next to Groot and trained his gun on Devon, while Sam took the opportunity and retrieved her Barret as she darted next to Rocket.

"Thanks Groot," Rocket huffed, as he briefly glanced at Devon, who stood with his Virbrosword, stunned. "Time to go now big guy!"

The two Raccoons climbed up to this shoulders, and as they were leaving Groot noticed the Bartender in the stand, and Rocket's unfinished drink. The living behemonth grabbed the drink, and walked up to Devon, before pouring it on his head, and tossing the cup down in front of him. With that, they then started out the door. Leaving Devon and his men in the Cantina.


	12. Not dead yet

**A/N My apologies, caught a major case of writer's block for this chapter. :/ Hope I did okay though.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Not Dead Yet**

* * *

"What was that?" Sam demanded harshly once they were outside.

Rocket hopped off of Groot's shoulder and turned to face Sam with a questioning look on his face. "What was what?" he asked bluntly.

"You know what the heck I mean, that little scene you put on back there! What were you thinking Rocket?!" She was starting to shout now, despite the many people around them walking and doing different things in the streets.

"What did you think I was doing? I was sticking up, for YOU! What else did you expect me to do? Let them screw over my girlfriend like she were a dang statue?" Rocket protested, throwing his arms in the air. "I care about you-"

"Whoa whoa, whoa!" The female interrupted, narrowing her eyes, "let me get something straight with you: We are not boyfriend and girlfriend. It will stay at that until I decide when we get there, and until then, you need to learn to control your temper!" Sam demanded.

"So that almost mouth-to-mouth moment didn't mean anything to you?" Rocket replied, his voice starting to rise. "Huh? Did that not mean a single thing to you?!" He walked up to her so close that he could almost smell her breath, his eyes resting in a manner showing that he was clearly starting to get upset.

"That only happened because I was upset Rocket!" Sam's head shot up, her eyes blazing slightly. "I- I do things like that when I'm upset, I start to want to- get some kind of affection."

"That is not true," the gun-totting mammal responded aloud, "and neither is the fact that you could handle yourself. You needed me there, you just won't admit it, whether you like it or not," he finished firmly.

She glared daggers at him with narrowed eyes in response, and her fluffy tail swatted the air behind her angrily. "I can help myself just fine, you idiot! I don't need some moron drooling over me to help fight my battles!"

"He had 5 other guys with him, Sam! He practically had every advantage in the book over you, and I could see that he was tearing you down like that-"

"I could deal with him! He wasn't your problem!" Sam rejected loudly, "Devon was my fight!"

Finding himself more hurt than he thought he'd be, Rocket's mouth hung open slightly, and his eyes were filled with hurt. Not to the point of tears, but to the point where his heart actually felt like it _hurt._

_ Looks at me…. _Rocket thought, _I'm getting soft…. how- how am I getting soft all of a sudden? I'm not supposed to be able to feel this way- I wasn't even born being able to feel this way! Rocket Raccoon NEVER gets soft!_

"Why you so hostile over this guy anyway?" Rocket decided to ask, changing the subject. "What'd he ever do to you? Plus, what was that he was gawking about in there, 'bout you killing some guy that you were lovey dovey over?" He pressed.

Her head shot around to face him. "I told you Rocket, he was lying!" Sam stated firmly, "if you care about me so much, why can't you believe me for once?"

"Well you didn't react very well to his little comment 'bout that," Rocket pointed out, "and frankly, I don't think you're reacting that well to it _now, _seeing as how that lil' temper of _yours _is flaring off again, like it always does."

Sam scoffed and widened her eyes challengingly at this. "Maybe I was acting protective over it with that 'lil' temper of mine' because some idiot who I barely knew was trying to pry into my business. Someone like you, Rocket," she added coldly.

Groot stood in the middle in front of the two Raccoons meanwhile, listening to them argue like an old couple, keeping an amazingly straight expression the whole time, looking back and forth at one and the other as they exchanged comments, his eyes widening a little occasionally at a really cold remark. Eventually, he watched as Sam turned to walk away.

"Well maybe if you actually _started _acting like you cared about _me, stop keeping secrets from me, _and stop arguing, I would believe you for once!" Rocket shouted after her, his voice rising so loudly that it stopped the people within a ten feet radius of him in mid-speech. Their noisy speech turned into quiet murmurs among themselves as they separated to form a ring around the two mammals. People of all species and of any faction- even criminals and regular people stopped to listen, and for at least those few ten feet- it was next to dead silence

Sam stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of Rocket's rebuke, and she lowered her head slightly. Any blaze of anger that her eyes had once contained had now disappeared with a blink of her small, delicate eyelashes, which within them held dilated pupils that were heavy with sorrow. She took everything in for a few minutes and allowed everything to sink in, before closing her eyes once more, and turning around to face Rocket finally.

"Look…. Rocket," she started more quietly, "Maybe we shouldn't-"

Before any more of this dramatic scene could continue, Rocket's com started to buzz constantly. He almost felt like ignoring the com and listening to Sam finish, but he knew how important it was to answer, and reached down for the device attached to his utility belt, answering it.

"Rocket here, what do we got?" he asked hesitantly, still locking eyes with Sam, who still had that look like she wanted to tell him something.

"Rocket." No surprise, it was Peter's voice. "I don't know where you guys are right now, but we need you in the town square closest to the ship A.S.A.P! This is gonna sound wacked out, but I think we've found Robo-Cop's tracer!"

" 'ight Quill, we're on our way!" He looked over to Sam, than to Groot. "Come on, we folks, we gotta move now."

* * *

"Are you sure it is them, Peter?" Gamora asked, "because as far as I can tell, this 'Assassin' figure is no fool," she remarked.

"Well, we don't have anything else to go on right now Gamora," Peter sighed, "so until we do, all I can think of is going after this tracer. Chances are we should find this guy- or whatever on Terra he is if my tracer is working correctly."

"And if not?"

He glanced ahead up the street, then back at her briefly, shrugging slightly. "Then we find another way."

"Works for me," Rocket replied from the side, Sam no longer standing next to him as she usually did. "Besides like Quill was sayin', what else we got to go on?"

"Nothing," Quill stated, "so that remains my point." He pulled out a small glass translucent map in the shape of a scroll and opened it, revealing a small area of Knowhere. He then zoomed in further on a particular location on the map, which looked to border a transportation zone, where a glowing red dot lied… the tracer of course.

He pointed to it, as the group gathered around him. "That's the tracer. We're going to have to get there by foot, than move in by the Transporters in order to reach that guy's ship."

"I am Groot?" Groot asked from behind Peter.

Peter sighed and slowly looked at Groot, than over at Rocket with a knowing look.

"Hey Rick ol' buddy, you wanna give me a translation for Yogi here?" he asked sarcastically.

"He's asking why we don't just go by ship," Rocket replied with an eye roll, "and he's name's not Yogi, it's Groot!"

"Yogi sounds good to me," Peter insisted.

"Jerk," Rocket murmured.

With a look over Rocket's head at Groot, the Half-Terran replied, "and to answer your question big guy, it's because we want a stealthily approach on these guys. Dropping in on them with a ship's not exactly the most stealthiest idea, even with a cloaking field, which means it's too much of a risk to take," he explained.

"So we walk halfway to the Transporters," Rocket re-stated, "then we ride the rest of the way to where his ship should be at, right?"

"Correct, except that we have to be careful as we get closer. There's got to be a reason he's here right now. Either he's meeting with someone, he's here by some coincidence, or-"

"He knew we were coming the whole time," Gamora finished.

Peter smiled and nodded again. "Now you guys are catching on."

"I recommend we get moving as soon as possible than Peter," Gamora remarked back, "we can't let that orb stay in his hands."

"We're not," he replied simply, "that's why we're moving now." He looked over at Rocket, then separately looked at Sam, and frowned, before staring back at the Raccoon, who looked slightly down in the dumps.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed during a pit stop," Peter smirked, "what happened to you and Juliet?"

Rocket and Sam exchanged a small glare, before Sam abruptly broke off eye contact. "Nothing," they both firmly stated at the same time.

The Half-Terran clearly didn't look convinced, but just ended up letting his shoulders shrug, a smug expression clearly visible on his face as he did this. "In that case, you two had better lift those little chins up. Because guess what?"

Rocket rolled his eyes and huffed, putting his chin on his paw. "We're working together?"

Peter smiled. "You're getting good at this game."

* * *

_10 minutes to destination arrival_

Rocket heard the intercom on the Transporter announce. He had to admit, this was the stupidest way to even CONSIDER, traveling towards an enemy. Taking a floating train, on a rundown planet, when it's the busiest hour for people to be traveling? Couldn't they have just taken the ship, or something, like normal people would?

Ugh… if Rocket had to take 5 more minutes of this, he just might kill someone sooner or later, which frankly, would probably end up being Quill in the end.

One thing was for sure, they still had no idea who that 'Grimlock' guy was. Rocket had never considered telling Peter who he actually was. To be honest, he had a few very good reasons for this:

He didn't want Quill stressing over him.

Everyone would probably consider Rocket insane.

Rocket wasn't even sure if what he saw is real.

Of course, the Raccoon had convinced himself through two nights of (almost) restless sleep that it was real, and that had been confirmed by recognition. But the recognition only made Rocket even more inwardly frightened and afraid, and let more questions inside his mind to be raised: How did he know Grimlock? Who was that old guy with the beard? And more so, not evolving his visions of the past, was Sam telling him the truth about this- Maverick character? Not only that, but about what had happened to her. How someone does not remember two years of their life, only remembers waking up in an escape pod as a teen, with some random set of skills which they do not remember getting from anyone by the way, Rocket did not know.

That sounded almost as ridiculous, if not more ridiculous, than his 'killer stripper' theory.

Speaking of the introverted female, Sam had not spoke nor uttered one syllable to Rocket since their little argument outside the bar. Any attempts of Rocket trying to speak to Sam would only end with her giving him that cold glare that says, 'don't talk to me, EVER AGAIN!'

And that's that.

Now here he was, just sitting in one of the most uncomfortable seats he'd sat in in his entire life, next to another hothead, in a very hot Transporter, on a very hot planet, on a very hot day.

Thinking more about Sam eventually lead Rocket not being able to sit next to her without speaking to her. He started to speak.

"Sam… look, can we just figure this out?" Rocket said with a sigh.

Sam jerked her head in his direction. "There's nothing, _to_ figure out, Rocket."

Rocket replied with a scoff. "Well, could yah at least not sit there and ignore me like some statue, and talk ta' me for once?" he demanded. "You haven't said one letter to me since the cantina!"

"I have too!" she retorted, "as of like two seconds ago!"

"That was two seconds ago," Rocket calmly argued, "you haven't talked to me since than."

As though finding that very sentence to be the stupidest thing Sam's ever heard, she huffed, and said, "well are you happy now?"

"No, actually."

"Why's that?" Sam shifted herself and repositioned her tail which she'd been sitting on so she was more comfortable.

"Because- ugh, I hate sayin' stuff like this…." Rocket mumbled quickly, "because I don't like seein' you upset like that."

Hearing him say this, the female Raccoon laughed almost immediately. "Oh ho, now you have a heart all of a sudden? That's a start for Rocket Raccoon."

Rocket opened his mouth to rebuke, as the Transporter pulled to a stop. But the glimmer of a faint red light made him stop… and it seemed to be coming from somewhere out in front of them. Than, a red dot was visible.

It was aimed directly at Sam's chest.

His eyes widened in bewilderment. "SAM, GET DOWN NOW!" He lunged forward and tackled the fellow Raccoon to the ground. "What tha-" Sam didn't have any time to react.

A bright red beam shattered the glass where the two once stood, sending people within the Transporter screaming out the now open doors. A second red beam was fired by the mysterious intruder, shattering more glass around Rocket, who covered Sam and his head to avoid getting shards in his eyes.

"Jesus…." Rocket mumbled. He crawled forward and snatched his dropped weapon, while Sam withdrew her Barret. But as he sat up from the ground, Rocket Raccoon found himself face to face with the very same red dot that had been trained on Sam.

And a one eyed, grinning Fox. "Hello, Sam," Deadshot greeted casually. He looked over to Rocket, and his grin grew wider as he moved his weapon's sight onto the male Raccoon. "And, Rocket Raccoon."

Sam, her beady eyes wide with anger and fear, almost paralyzed at the sight of the large fox, uttered the one name that Rocket had dared to forget.

"Maverick," she whispered. "It's you."


	13. The Hunt Begins

**Chapter 13: The Hunt Begins**

* * *

Rocket tensed at the sound of his name, and stared at the Fox, baffled, as if he'd come back to life someway, somehow. Not just at that fact alone… but he was HUGE. At least 6 inches taller than Rocket. Maverick's left eye seemed normal, but his right had a mechanical texture and look to it, and gleamed a bright red in the pupil area. It seemed to menacingly dilate as the Fox looked down his weapon's sights at Rocket.

"Y- you're, Maverick?" Rocket asked, clearly nervous, his teeth clenched, as he kept his weapon lowered. Behind him, he heard Sam growl.

Maverick's eye dilated back to its normal shape and the Fox's smile widened as he let out a loud laugh. "That's me!" He did a little shift, which would be safe to assume seemed like a dance, and put his arms in the air, giving Sam enough time to quickly move her Barret onto his chest. Maverick widened his eyebrows in alarm and brought his weapon back to her, laughing wickedly.

"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast Sweetheart…" he chuckled moving his pointer finger back and forth, "you and me aren't done talking."

Rocket's eyes darted to his Grenade Launcher- no it was a Laser Rifle. _Or both, _the Raccoon considered. He'd seen such hybrids before, they weren't uncommon. Then again, they weren't common either.

This one looked odd though. The standard issue Nova Corp pump action grenade launcher looked to be on the top half, except the pump for loading rounds had been drilled into the side by the looks of it. The Laser Rifle's grip had been removed, and so had a few other parts, leaving only the beam focuser, optics, and other operating parts to help making up the barrel on the top. Rocket still couldn't say for sure how it worked, since he couldn't see much… but it was an excellent weapon nevertheless.

But it was one he didn't want to be on the other end of the barrel of.

As for his clothing, Maverick looked to have a smaller version of a Ravager duster, but it had grenade bandolier running down the front of it from a diagonal angle. Not much of a fancy clothing choice when it came to Rocket's idea of good apparel.

Sam's body weight wiggled as she kept the grip of her enormous weapon to her shoulder, and her hands shook slightly. "What'd there to talk about, Dead-eye?" She scoffed.

"Dead-SHOT," Maverick correct her with a snarl, "to you." He cocked his head to the side, the fur around his face turning narrow as he cracked his neck.

"I don't have to call you by anything," Sam snapped, glaring at him, "I'll call you what I want."

A smirk and the same cold grin was all the female received in response. "Awe, you don't love me anymore, little Samantha? Got so bored of me you-"

She tensed at hearing him say her full name, and Rocket even seemed surprised at hearing him call her that. "You lost that privilege a long time ago," Sam interrupted, "and we aren't going back," she finished firmly with a shake of her head.

The way she looked at him seemed as if Maverick were the devil himself, but Rocket could also see that she was clearly frightened by him, the way her eyes glimmered like that. What this tall, red-furred mammal was capable of, Rocket had yet to find out.

"I lost that privilege?" The Fox looked as if he were about to laugh again, but kept smiling, his brows lowered. "You-"

Not leaving him enough time to talk any further, Rocket lunged forward and smacked Maverick's weapon right out of his arms, and elbowed him in the face, while holding his own weapon. "You talk too much!" Rocket shouted, snickering.

The Fox snarled with anger as his head bobbed up, but he simply blinked and turned around, uppercuting Rocket back into a wall. Rocket heard the loud crack of Sam's Barret beside him, but as he regained his senses, he watched as Maverick ducked and dodged the bullet, and jumped for his gun, which was down the aisle across from them.

"He's going for his gun, Rocket, we need to go now!" Sam shouted, tugging him along with her.

Rocket knew better than to protest for once, as he charged down the aisle, close behind her tail. The Fox was TWO times his size, how could he fist fight someone with that kind of muscle mass?

Behind them, Maverick roared, and two minutes later, a laser beam whizzed past them. He pointed at them both, and shouted, "AFTER THEM!"

Outside the parked Transporter, Kree soldiers were pounding after Rocket and Sam from the outsides, while Maverick and a few others charged down the inside of the train.

Rocket pulled out his communicator as he ran, and tuned it to Peter, desperately trying to warn him, but the screaming sounds and rumble of a passing Transporter caused him and Sam to tumble slightly, sending the small communications device out of his little paws, and out the window. The Male Raccoon cursed under his breath as he regained his footing, and lunged for the window, arms flailing, but thought against it as more bullets whizzed past his head, and continued running as fast as his legs could carry him. "Great!" Rocket groaned sarcastically, "now how're we gonna get help?"

Sam looked back briefly, then resumed her focus ahead of them. "We'll figure something out Chuckles, keep running!"

The soldiers- lead by Maverick continued running through the Transporter, and started to turn as it came to a curve in its look. As they continued racing down the aisle, however, no one realized that the two mammals had disappeared. There was only one place for certain they could be hiding at this point, which the Kree were starting to approach, 'The Operator's Cockpit.' The men out the outside of the train surrounded the backside entrance of the cockpit in case Rocket or Sam attempted to leave through their, while Maverick and his men breached the front.

"No sign on the outside, sir!" One soldier outside called.

Maverick nodded and looked up at the others around him. "Well? What're you waiting for you idiots? Go get 'em so I can get paid already!" He demanded, his voice echoing loudly.

With an exchanged nod, two Kree tried the door handle. It was locked. Than one of them tried kicking the door, and even broke the door handle. But it STILL, wouldn't budge.

The Fox groaned and facepalmed himself. "They must have the doors blockaded. Get them open."

This time, two more soldiers joined in opening the door, and after pushing a little more, and with a few vicious kicks, the metal door swung open, where Maverick and several men darted inside, weapons readied on their targets.

* * *

"It's dark in here." One voice whispered.

"Obviously." The second voice sarcastically responded.

"No I mean, it's REALLY dar-"

"Stop squishing my arm, you idiot!"

"Then stop poking me in the dang eye, we still have claws you know, even if we're not cats!"

"I didn't poke your eye, you poked your own eye! And- why- why are you touching me between the legs?!"

"Oh- that's what that soft spot was?... I thought that was your armpit."

"You are such a pervert."

"You smell good." A slight purring sound could be heard.

"Yeah, you're a pervert."

There was a slight shuffling from inside where the two figures were squished together, in that dark space, and a minute later, Rocket Raccoon is seen sitting up from the crate, on top of Sam, who is stuck on the bottom of the Transporter's small storage compartment that they'd stuffed themselves into. He tumbled out quietly as he could, grunting as he cracked his back and sat up, examining his weapon and checking for anything that could possibly be wrong with it. Nothing seemed wrong.

Sam climbed out a moment later, and carried out her Barret, and hopped onto the floor of the Transporter next to him, before she and him started the opposite direction Maverick and his goons had ran past them before.

Rocket had hoped that Sam would be positive towards him again by now, or show him some kind of sign of affection- considering she'd acted herself in that little small space with him, but all she did was stay on task and stare straight ahead, barely acknowledging Rocket, until they'd exited the Transporter, and had ran to the nearest station stop.

"That guy should be occupied with the Operator, if he's even there," Sam remarked, "and even though you're communicator's broken, mine is-" She pulled out an object about the same size as Rocket's out of her vest, except it was squashed to bits.

"Also broken," Rocket finished off, sighing in frustration, putting his hands on his head, "this is just perfect! Now how're we supposed to get Quill to know we're here?"

Sam sighed and tossed the broken com aside, looking around. Her ears pricked at the sound of shouting voices, indicating that Maverick had clearly discovered their sudden disappearing act. "I don't know," she admitted firmly, "but we're going to find a way."

* * *

Meanwhile, Peter, Gamora, and Groot were in a completely different situation… unware of Rocket's difficult circumstances that he'd been caught in.

The three of them were now in the old Brain Matter mines district, which had long since been abandoned due to the explosions and constant destruction that now plagued the land. Peter had only heard Gamora brief summarize bits and pieces of Knowhere's history, but he'd never actually got to be IN, the district that the mining activates too place at. Or _used _to take place.

The idea of an organism's brain having the matter being pried right out of it was just crazy sounding to Peter, he had to say. What the organism was, or used to be, he had no idea, but it still sounded pretty crazy.

But as if everything else he'd seen outside of Terra wasn't completely crazy… which it was, to be truthful. Babes that had needles for teeth, talking and gun-totting (and psychotic) rodents, red skinned humans, and now BRAIN MATTER, mines. How much crazier could this galaxy get for Peter Quill?

Probably _a lot _more crazier.

Well, it had gotten a lot more crazier as it turned out, actually. They were hunting for a wannabe Robo-Cop, who apparently knew him and Rocket, and he suspected the robot even knew Sam, and apparently he was a guy who had a motive to take the orb as well. Could be Ronan, could even be Thanos behind it, as Gamora had assumed before, but until then, here they were, wandering Knowhere for the second time.

"How much farther until we reach the tracer signal?" Gamora asked Peter impatiently.

"Only about less than 100 meters. Why?" Peter replied, narrowing his eyes and noticing her impatience.

The cyborg looked ahead and gazed around the surrounding area around them, before glancing back to Peter, frowning thoughtfully, and her eyelashes lowered. "I do not see any secure landing spots around here, or open areas to land in. Are you certain that you really traced their ship correctly?"

"Don't doubt my baby's abilities," Peter chuckled, scratching his growing beard, "the Milano never lies, trust me, I would know."

"Your faith in your ship is not a negative thing Peter, but you should keep in mind that these are Kree we are fighting," Gamora added, "and they are cunning soldiers, in my experience with them."

"That doesn't mean they can get past my ship tracer," Peter rejected, shrugging, "just because they're so good doesn't make them tech nerds."

"Which they also have in their army," Gamora added on.

Peter laughed, not noticing for a minute that his tracking device was starting to go haywire in his hands, and had a blinking red light going off in its center. "Like they knew I had traced them. They can't be that smart, Gamora, they're practically Ninja Turtles with a plum sized brain!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that Peter. Confidence is a self-destructive weapon if not controlled properly." She looked at the ground for a second and out of the corner of her eye noticed the beeping and blinking object in Peter's hands. "Your tracker looks to be going off."

Peter stared down at it, and widened his eyes as he read the 20 meters that were left on it. He turned it off and looked around, and ahead at the direction that the tracer was leading them in. Then, he frowned. "Wait a minute, wait a minute-"

He darted ahead, withdrawing his pistols, and sprinted alongside next an old wall of a mine shaft, not stopping to listen for approaching danger or enemies. He could hear the sounds of Gamora and Groot eventually rushing after him, but that was oblivious to him at the moment. Something wasn't right… Gamora was right, there was clearly no way the ship could've safely land around here. The Mining district was too narrow for a stable landing, considering the ship's size. Something definitely wasn't right about this.

Peter reached the edge of the moss grown wall and quickly turned the corner, his pistols trained on a new target:

Nothing. No ship, no Kree soldiers, no Robo-Cop, and most discouragingly of all, no Earth Destroying Orb.

Peter slowly but surely rushed ahead, his mouth gapping in shock. "No, no, no, no, no, NO!" He ran until the dot on his tracker read that he was standing exactly on top of the location of the supposed 'ship.' Except there wasn't. Just the sandy ground of the mining district.

"How?" Peter demanded to himself, cursing under his breath as he sighed in distress. He dropped the tracker and put both hands on his head, pounding his head slightly into the nearest object: the wall of a mining station.

The half-Terran thought about how the ship could possibly not be here, even with a tracker. _The Nova Corp… _Peter thought carefully, _They had a method of counteracting ship trackers…. What did Rocket say it was called? Curse you, you smart-alek Raccoon! _He shook away and disregarded the thought. That was something to think about another time. _Come on, Peter, think man! Think!... what was it called? _

After a hard and long thought process, it hit him, just as fast as his eyes shot open.

"Plot Freezers!" Peter said outloud, standing up straight and looking to Gamora and Groot, his expression serious and grim. "They knew we were tracking them, and they froze my tracker plot in this exact spot to throw me off!"

Groot's eyes buldged out from his head in panic. "I am Groot?!" (That means Rocket and that other furry lady-)

"I knew it!" Gamora spat viciously, kicking the dirt like a young toddler having a tantrum.

Peter realized something else as he thought about the sudden discovery, and trembled slightly. "Get Rocket," he demanded, "NOW."

Gamora quickly moved her line of brown hair to one side and retrieved her ear communicator and tried to get in contact with him, but shook her head grimly in reply. "He's not replying, Quill, he's communicator's signal is dead."

"Dead?! Get Sam then!" Peter urged, starting to also become panicked.

The response wasn't any better than the last. "Hers is dead too Quill."

Peter meet eyes with Gamora, and the assassin did the same. They both knew what this meant for sure at this point.

"Gamora," Peter started slowly, "I think that robot guy is trying to pick us off."


	14. On the Run

**A/N Just letting you know, this chapter, and the next one might be a little dark. Not really worth mentioning, but I just thought I'd let you guys know ahead of time. ENJOY! **

**Hint hint: R&amp;R Please! ;D **

* * *

**Chapter 14: On the Run**

* * *

Rocket and Sam both stealthily ran alongside the seemingly deserted transporter tunnel walkway. For what was supposed to be a busy place, it really wasn't. It might've just been due to the fact that Maverick's attack had scared away the majority of the people trying to use the vehicle, but Rocket wasn't exactly paying attention to that particular fact. All he knew was that Sam's supposed former boyfriend, who was supposedly d-e-a-d, had just supposedly attacked them, for some supposed reason.

_There's something you don't see everyday, _Rocket thought sarcastically as he ran.

His ears were wide open for any sounds that sounds like heavy boots pounding against trash-ridden concrete, but so far, all he'd heard was the sound of occasional water droplets echoing as they dripped onto the ground, and the silent rattle of Sam and his weapons as they ran. It may have been very dark, but there was just enough light that Rocket could make out crude graffiti on the walls. Political, threats, gang or mercenary territory, the possibilities to what the writings meant were endless. Some were just flat out crude language, as if the writer of the harsh words expected a certain someone to know who the words were being directed at. But they stretched all along the walls no matter how far they went, as if the graffiti never ended. Trash of every kind, shape, and form covered the entire ground and every square inch of it, causing the worst of smells to clog both raccoons' noses.

Once they finally reached the end, they came to a slight curve in the tunnel, which led to a more inhabitable area, where people started to appear. Sam stopped him with her arm, and Rocket started to slow his pace to a fast walk.

"We should be safe here," she insisted exhaling calmly, "we just need to find the next sign out of here before those guys come…." Sam scratched her head and looked around a moment.

Rocket nodded, but tensed as he watched a group of bulky Kree soldiers, armed with machine guns walk towards their direction. They didn't look to have spotted either of them yet, but Rocket knew that wouldn't last.

"Way ahead of you on that, Sam," Rocket quietly stated, nudging her arm and gesturing to the threat he'd detected, "we've got company." He started to retrieve his machine gun, but Sam shook her head quickly in protest.

"What do you think you're doing?" she whispered frantically, "we'll never take them all at once!"

Rocket leaned against the wall and turned off the safety of his machine gun, grunting as he glanced back at the soldiers. "You got a better idea slim?"

She remained silent.

"If we can take a few of those guys near the entrance out, I'll bet we can make a clean run for it without gettin' bullets lodged in our fur on the way," he remarked, then looked back to Sam with a snicker. "Unless you have any objections, mi lady?"

"Yeah, actually. Where are we going to run, _to? _Even if we do get out, how are we going to find Peter without a dang comlink?" Sam whispered back.

Rocket growled in annoyance and sighed, rolling his eyes. Of course she would ask the obvious. "We'll figure it out when we get out and deal with these guys, okay?"

Reluctant about his choice and his recklessness as usual, Sam wasn't seemingly happy with doing so, but shook her head and pulled out her Barret. "Fine," she stated firmly, eyes glimmering as she took the opposite side of the wall from Rocket.

A few seconds of mouthing the first three numbers, and the trio darted into the open. Rocket watched in surprise as Sam chucked a small steel knife directly into a Kree's head, knocking him onto his back, before sliding to the side and sniping another in the forehead. Rocket charged into the open behind her as panicked citizens ran left and right, making it difficult to aim, but leaving him just enough room to gun down another bulky soldier without hurting anyone irrelevant to their task. The two sprinted up the stairs leading to the surface, barely just dodging the bullets which almost grazed their tails as the raccoons disappeared from the underground's doorway. The gunfire hit the concrete walls and steps behind Rocket, echoing throughout the entire structure and ricocheting noisily upon impact of the wall.

Sam stopped at the top of the stairs and readied her Barret on top of a nearby set of concrete stairs and fired a round into a soldier's head just as he came into view, but his other allies' fire sent her sprawling back into cover. Rocket paused in his mid-stride just in time realize Sam had stopped and groaned, as he sprinted back to help her. He slid over to her position, firing rapidly at the group of enemies furiously, causing them to fall back into cover or to simply duck and crouch in attempt to avoid his fire. The inferno rounds set at least two stray soldiers on fire, where the same devastating effects took place as they had before in the past on previous opponents. He stopped to reload, nearly flinching as a round smashed a chunk of debris right off the already decayed bench they hid behind.

"Time to go!" Rocket shouted to her, sprinting into the checkout booth and diving through a window.

Sam started towards him but hesitated, hearing the pounding of soldiers' footsteps starting to run up the stairs towards her, followed by the bullet stream starting to become closer to her. She started to retrieve a small device from one of the inside pockets of her sleek, long sleeved dark jumpsuit. "I can do this…." She muttered to herself determinedly, revealing a puck shaped orange device, with a small but scarcely readable label:

_WARNING: EXTREME HEAT UNLEASHED WITHIN 15 FEET OF BLAST RADIUS. GOOD DISTANCE UPON DETONATION OF THIS DEVICE IS HEAVILY RECOMMENDED TO PREVENT EXCESSIVE FATAL INJURIES… OR __DEATH__._

"Sam!" Rocket yelled from inside the booth. "Get in, what are you doing? You're going to get shredded out there!"

"No." Sam pulled the pin on the device, causing small yellow bars to slowly start lighting up along it. _5, 4, 3, 2…. _"They're going to get shredded." _1._

She chucked the device lightly down the stairwell next to her, before leaping with all her might into the window Rocket had entered through.

In the few micro seconds of the device's toss, it slowly clanked one, than twice down the steps. On the third clank, the dozen of men running up the steps didn't have any time to react before the device exploded into an enormous ring of blinding hellfire. The flames shot out beyond the stairwell itself, and washed over Sam and Rocket's heads harmlessly, sending hundreds of tiny glass shards showering over them. Though Rocket knew he and Sam weren't particularly in the right state of mind to be doing this, Rocket shielded her with his entire body, making sure her face didn't get hurt, and falling onto her chest as a result.

Following the aftermath of the fiery explosion when the smoke had cleared and the ringing in both raccoons' ears had ceased, Rocket slowly sat up from Sam, and opened his eyes, to find him staring into her also now open jewels. Her expression was difficult to read, but they just stared at each other for those next few seconds, unsure exactly what to say in their awkward position. He didn't want to admit it but… he could feel her small, yet hard breasts beneath her jumpsuit, considering he was pushed right up against her chest.

"Sorry," he apologized, grunting as stood up to get off of her, grabbing his dropped weapon, and grumbling. "Just didn't want you getting hurt."

The female only simply nodded in acknowledgement and snatched her Barret she'd left on the ground. As she did this, Rocket's facial expression almost died when he saw the fiery corpses lying along the stairwell, and the charred area around them.

"Wha- what kind of grenade was THAT supposed to be?" Rocket questioned.

"Incendiary," Sam responded, chucking her dry clip out the window and adding a new one to her weapon. But Rocket noticed a disturbing frown built upon her face for some odd reason. Sam squinted at the weapon, then suddenly padded around her black suit like she was searched for something. She pulled out two Barret clips. "I'm running dry, Rocket. I don't suppose you'd have any 50 caliber rounds under that jumpsuit of yours?"

_Either that, or you're talking about something else under my jumpsuit. _He mentally smirked inside his head at the dirty thought and instead shook his head in reply. "You see me using any Sniper Rifle? Then no, I don't got none." For the first time in a while, he noticed how much larger Sam's own weapon was compared to her small body. It looked so large and heavy, and seemed so powerful, Rocket had to wonder how she carried it so easily all the time. "How you carry that thing anyway?"

The female raccoon shot him a small, focused and narrowed look and shrugged. "What'd you mean?" She sat up from the ground, and looked back down the enflamed staircase to hear voices. "Let's run and talk," she suggested, and Rocket nodded, as they began racing out of the small structure and up the next set of steps.

"Well, for one, the gun's two times your own size, and two, it's got some pretty large bullets and some serious firepower. Put all of those things together, and you know it's a heavy gun. You'd have to be a pretty beefy lady in order to carry a weapon that large," Rocket inquired.

"Not when you modified it like I did." The two reached the top. "If you know the gears, you can take the extra stuff out that makes it so darn heavy and still make the thing work to its best. And make it lightweight all in one package," Sam added. "But the lightweight's not the only thing I added. Crafted this really sick scope and made an extended clip too myself."

"Hmm. What about the camo on it?" Rocket gazed at the green and black camo that decorated her Barret in such a perfect pattern of colors. If it were in a patch of lush green woods, Rocket was pretty sure it'd be almost impossible to pick out of the picture.

Sam stopped a minute and looked at the pattern, than back to Rocket. "Came with this thing when I brought it from my buyer."

_Buyer? _His eyebrows quirked with interest. He was learning something knew about this mammal every day.

"Nice," he settled for saying, "but who's the b-"

The high-pitched whine of a laser rifle being readied stopped Rocket both in his tracks, and in his sentence. The red dots of several guns and weapons were being trained on the two raccoons, a group of enemy soldiers being the ones training them. Leading them, a certain cyborg mammal: Deadshot. Or Maverick. Rocket didn't know what to call him exactly.

"Good show," _Maverick _snickered, "but you two have caused enough trouble for us today, throwing my men and myself into a game of hide-and-go-seek for an entire hour and killing off 3 squadrons of them. I would say pretty nice feat, but ah- those soldiers ain't cheap you know." He pointed his gun at Rocket and Sam.

The two raccoons exchanged a glance and both turned to dive back down the tunnel, but the pounding of two more squadrons of Kree soldiers stopped them in their tracks.

A small growl of frustration escaped Sam's throat. "What do you want with us?"

"More importantly, what're you gonna do with us?" Rocket demanded, "we ain't got no beef with you! You shouldn't got any beef wit' us!"

Maverick hummed to himself lightly and lowered his weapon from his shoulder, than slowly walked up to Rocket, who tensed and gritted his teeth together grudgingly. He clenched his fists, but didn't dare try to punch the enormous fox. That would surely be his last mistake if he even attempted to do so.

"No beef with you?" He said with a straight face, then laughed. "No, no, no, not you. You see, it's more or less this little slutty whore over here." Than in one motion, Maverick spun around, his fist suddenly clenched, and punched Sam across the face. This sent the female raccoon sprawling onto the ground, onto her face. Her rifle fell beside her, and she coughed several times out of pain causing blood to drip from her mouth.

"NO!" Rocket lunged at him and attempted to smack the fox across the face, who nimbly shifted backwards and pried the weapon from his grasp, and hit Rocket in the head with the butt of his own machine gun.

Rocket Raccoon was sent to the dirt floor, losing grip on his gun almost immediately. He sat up and spat out spit, watching as a single drop of red blood hit the ground, and cracked his neck. The pain in his head was pounding, and the butt of his own weapon had caused it. How pathetic, Rocket would think right about now. Though his idea was futile, Rocket lashed out at Maverick again out of rage for hitting Sam. The soldiers around them watched in stunned silence as Maverick dropped both guns, and roundhouse kicked Rocket in the chest. Now the pain had traveled from his head, directly down to his stomach. Rocket felt the mother of all roller coasters overwhelm him as he fell onto his back. A stomachache that would probably be powerful enough to kill 4 other organisms just like hit him like a wrecking ball.

"Come on little man!" Deadshot boasted, laughing manically. "Get up and fight me, and stop crying!" He quickly attempted to stomp on Rocket's stomach, but Rocket forced himself to roll to the side, and he maneuvered upward swiftly, striking Maverick in his own stomach. Maverick grunted and swung out his right arm to slap Rocket's face, but the raccoon had gained enough strength and willpower from watching Sam get beat to duck and deliver two more quick blows to the fox's chest, before upper cutting his jaw viciously. Luckily the fox had bulk, which meant it was hard for him to move fast enough to hit Rocket. Maverick growled out loud in anger as the uppercut sharply jerked back his head forcefully, moving him back a few steps.

"Don't. Touch. Sam. Ever. Again," Rocket stated firmly, panting, and grabbing his hurt stomach with one paw.

Maverick cracked his neck as he rolled his head around, and his ears flickered with anticipation at the sound of Rocket's order. "Or what, little guy? You going to-"

Sam's leg sharply swept Maverick's feet out from under him, sending to fox onto his face in the dirt. "You can go to the underworld you cyborg freak!" she spat, kicking him again in the face as he tried to get up. Maverick grabbed ahold of her foot as she attempted to do this again and slammed his fist down on her foot, sending a loud squeal of pain from Sam. Rocket then rammed into Maverick's face with his elbow, forcing the fox to release her. He knew he wouldn't win this, but Rocket took the opportunity to throw as many punches into Maverick's face as he could. About 6 punches in, he blacked out as the butt of a guard's assault rifle rammed into the back of his head, putting Rocket unconscious.

"ROCKET!" Sam shouted, still grunting in pain from her foot injury, but was worried about him anyway.

This time, it was Maverick who spat out blood, his face with a small bloody claw mark down his right cheek. He stood from the ground and hit Rocket several times with his foot, before walking over to Sam and ramming his foot into the side of her chest. She yelped with pain again. "You know darlin', your new boy to screw is a pretty good fighter…. too bad you won't get to see him again," Maverick laughed, blinking his mechanical eye, which was still trying to get back to normal following the fist fight.

"Screw you…." Sam growled, coughing again, and spitting on his steel-toed boot.

"Hmmm… don't I wish we could do that sweetheart, but the last time we did that, I ended up with a knife to my back," Maverick chuckle, kneeling down beside her, and feeling his hand down her pant leg. He slowly moved his paws down the insides of her furry legs, down towards her tail hole, causing Sam to shift uncomfortably, give him the evil eye, and to bite his finger, and spit blood on his coat.

Behind them, Rocket was getting dragged away by the guards, and his weapon was also being taken, for some odd reason.

"Don't you even think about trying that!" she challenged.

"Yow, hot dang girl!" Maverick sadistically laughed, rubbing his bit finger, "feisty… good. You'll need it when you and me catch up later…. because let's just say we're going to redo what happen that night you decided to stab me."

His foot then slammed against her head, and Sam saw nothing but darkness.


	15. The Wrath of Deadshot

**Chapter 15: The Wrath of Deathshot**

* * *

"Geez, get down!" Peter shouted, ducking behind a trash compartment as a bullet passed over his head. Gamora ducked by the wall across from him, sword and laser pistol now in hand. Peter flinched sharply as another bullet smacked into the metal wall just in front of his head, before quickly darting out from cover to find his opponent reloading on the rooftop above him. He lifted one of his weapons and quickly fired several beams into the man's chest, knocking the soldier into the alley with a loud thud.

"I am Groot!" Groot yelled a warning and ran in front of the two just in time as the explosion of a grenade went off, using his arms to create a large root-like shield. Peter noticed the thrower a few meters away and returned fire, putting him on the ground. He looked around wildly, trying to find a way out of the deserted area he was now in.

"Shoot shoot shoot shoot…." He breathed to himself, feeling an extreme case of paranoia take over.

"Peter, over here!" Gamora suddenly called out to him.

He turned to find the slick assassin next to Groot, near an archway with a pair of steps leading to the unknown. Groot had just slammed his fist into a soldier coming down the steps, sending him falling down the small stone stairs right as Groot had slammed his root shield into another one, knocking him out cold.

"We have got to get Drax out here, now!" Peter said under gritted teeth once he, Gamora, and Groot were up the stairs and behind the archway. "He's the only one with the ship, and right now, there's no way we're going to find Rocket or Sam without it!"

"Has it ever occurred to you that Drax doesn't know _how _to fly the ship, Peter?" Gamora responded, looking at him as if implying him to be an idiot.

Peter shrugged his shoulders and tossed up his arms. "Well we don't exactly have a choice concerning the mega thesaurus, do we?" he asked.

* * *

In question, the bulky killing machine was not boldly standing guard at the doorway as he'd said he would do, nor was he watching from afar, or sitting on the floor, sharpening his dagger as he waited for an opponent to dare set foot inside Peter's ship.

In the Milano, Drax the Destroyer was sitting down, his head face down on a table, snoring loudly as his back rose and fell. He stroked his dagger as he slept which he oddly enough held firmly in one hand. Drax never went to sleep without it, so that really wasn't too much of a surprise for him.

"Drax!" The communications system buzzed with life faintly in front of him. "Drax!" Obviously it was Peter's voice. "Come on you big red behemoth, answer the dang call! We need your help! Drax!"

Drax stirred, but his continuous snoring overlapped Quill's plea. "DRAX, DAMN IT-"

The message ended.

The behemoth started stroking his dagger again, and snuggled his head against it, as if thinking it to be a pillow.

And he snored onward.

* * *

Rocket awoke to the sounds of faint voices buzzing in his ears, in the building he was in. They were difficult to make out because of the ringing in his ears however. He could easily tell right away that they were in a building because of the cool air drifting through his fur, and the faint sound of the air conditioning in the distance. It was all the raccoon could do not to moan or groan in pain, as he started to slightly shift his chest. That was his big mistake. The equivalent pain of 100 wasp stings hit Rocket directly in his gut, and the pain traveled down to his legs as he tried to move them even the slightest bit. He also found that that humming he'd heard in his ears was a throbbing migraine in his head. He tried to open his eyes, but he found that his vision was blurred from the concussion he'd received from Maverick's boot, and the light was too much for his eyes to suddenly take in.

As he carefully touched his leg with his paw, he felt a few strangely smooth and wet parts along it. _Bandages. _Rocket recognized the feel. Perhaps the wetness was antibiotics, or something to get rid of the pain. But why would they put bandages on Rocket if they wanted him dead so badly, the raccoon wondered? The pain in his legs slowly subsided a moment later, after getting a feel of them. Rocket silently gritted his teeth together and slowly moved his hand up to his head. They'd put little pieces of cloth to cover up he scratches and bruises he'd received during the fight too. The throbbing migraine still remained, however.

Rocket than opened his eyes, very slightly and hesitantly at first, to find himself laying on his side on the fancy tile glass flooring of a penthouse- it looked to be. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, his vision started to make out two figures, one freakishly tall, and the other- a small red figure.

He made them out to be Maverick, and not Grimlock, but one of his armored soldiers, in his place.

Then his hearing adjusted, where Rocket began to make out their conversation.

"You can tell Grimlock he can kiss the crease of my tail-hole if he thinks I'm just going to drop everything and babysit him against THREE guardians!" Maverick spat, sounding quickly angry at the moment. "It's a tree, an assassin, and a damn outlaw, how hard can they be?!"

The guard looked incredibly unfazed by his statement, and deadpanned Maverick. "Sir, Master Grimlock insists that you-"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on!" Maverick snapped, interrupting him. "Let me ask you a question:" He sound calmer for a brief second, but his eyes still flared with annoyance as his tail swatted the air. "Do I _look like, _I care about what ol' Grim's got to say to me?"

"No, sir."

"Then tell him to buzz off!" Maverick growled, stomping his foot like a child, which Rocket found amusement in to some level.

"Mister Deadshot, you know he will not allow you to stay without a valid reason," the soldier replied tiredly with a sigh.

The fox bounty hunter sighed and face palmed the front of his face with his paw, his tail picking up pace out of pure annoyance, before he looked back to the soldier and shook his head. "Tell tha' boss I'm busy with our two prisoners right now, and that I don't have time to help him at the moment!"

"What will be done with the prisoners?"

"I'll transport 'em after I finish things here. I have- business to take care of with one of them, a score to settle you could say," Maverick finished with a chuckle. He quickly frowned up at the soldier. "That all, tin can?"

"Yes sir."

"Then get outta' here and make yourself useful!"

"Yes sir." With a dip of his head, the soldier started back through the doors. His footsteps descended down the steps which were outside the door.

_Steps… we must be at the top floor! _Rocket thought frantically.

Using his arm to support him, he very carefully sat up from the floor. Or at least, attempted to, before he found two laser rifles being trained on him.

"Don't move!" One of the soldiers watching him ordered.

"Aw, crap…." Rocket breathed, "come on, man!" He groaned again as the pain in his chest boiled a little more, and seethed through his teeth as he sank back down to the ground a little lower.

Maverick heard his presence and spun around, his face lighting up at the sight of Rocket being awake. "Ah, you're awake! Good timing too…." He remarked, "me an' the boys were just talking 'bout you."

Bended over, but standing, Rocket glared up at the fox mercenary. "Where's Sam? What did you do with her?" He demanded through gritted teeth.

In reply to this, a smile formed on Maverick's sly little face. "Oh, that's right, you wanted to talk about Sam- wanted to know how she knew me, right?"

"Bud, I don't want to hear anything you have to say about Sam," Rocket spat. His thoughts told him otherwise, however, even though Maverick wasn't someone he would trust even if his life depended on it.

He continued even with Rocket's denial. "Mmmm…. Samantha. She really was a pretty looking thing, still is. Met her back during a bounty hunt I had. She killed my bounty, and I was about to kill her for that, but, ah… you know what happened then."

"So why didn't you?" Rocket dared to ask, not meeting his eyes.

"I decided it wasn't a fair fight. Let her live." Rocket may not have seen Maverick, but he could tell the fox must be looking at him. "Then I brought her back to my place, and after a few weeks, 'blam!' What do you know, we're in love!" He said aloud, in an exaggerated dramatic voice, grinning at Rocket.

Rocket slowly shook his head. "That- that can't be true. The hell does she see in you anyway?"

Maverick ignored him. "I never really liked her that much though… except when she was in bed." This part caused Rocket to snap and lunge at him, but the guards bulky bodies blocked him from doing so.

"You did not!" Rocket growled.

"Oh... and we did that at least twice. The pleasure I brought to Sam- it was very satisfying for me." Maverick sighed with enjoyment, as if thinking back to it. "And that ass..."

"You're sick," Rocket snarled.

"When someone makes love with you, then plunges a bladed knife through your back the next day, and jabs it into you 4 times, when you didn't do anything to them to deserve it? Now tell me, Rocket Raccoon: Does that sound sick to you? Because whatever the answer, that's the kind of gal you're in love with right now."

Within his body, Rocket's heart skipping a beat, making him grunt a little. The pain in his stomach was slowly starting to subside, allowing him to stand up a little straighter. The guards moved their weapons even closer to him.

_No. _Rocket thought. _It can't be true. _She did love him- didn't she? She almost kissed him on the mouth, _twice_. They probably even would've gone farther than that if stupid ol' Groot hadn't interrupted. The two covered each other's backs. They talked, they shared stories. Even with their occasional banters in the past, the two had always stitched things up.

_But she never did try to fix it before. _Rocket remembered. "N- no," Rocket stuttered, starting to get worried. "it's not true." His eyebrows started to feel heavy, and his fur started to get sweaty.

"Tell yourself whatever you want to hear, Rocket," Maverick said, putting on a straight face, a small grin forming on the edges of his lips. He then turned around, suddenly taking off his duster and grenade bandolier, revealing a strongly built back and- several old red stab marks on his back. They seemed like pretty gruesome looking scars, even if they were a few years old. "But she'll do it to you. Trust me. It might not be today, or tomorrow. But if you ever do get out alive, Sam'll get you when she gets a chance. Then you'll wish you'd listened to me."

"I won't have to listen to you, because you'll be dead by then," Rocket growled, "Sam loves me, a heck of a lot more than she likes you, I can say that for a fact. I can definitely see why, considering it looks like you've got a little something in your eye there… Maverick."

Maverick's eyes shot open at this as he grabbed Rocket by his arms and shoved him against a cylinder support of the penthouse. He then reached down by his ankle, and came back up beholding an enormous combat knife in his paw. Pointing it in a stabbing position right below Rocket's jaw, he spat in his face, pointing a death-defying glare at him. His red mechanical eye dilated as he glared.

"You really want to go there, boy?" Maverick threatened with a defensive growl, pushing the tip, against Rocket's chin lightly. "Let me get something straight to your pathetic ass, no one, and I mean NO ONE calls me by my real name!" he shouted into Rocket's face angrily, shaking with rage.

Even in the state of peril he was in right now, Rocket began laughing silently, yet uncontrollably.

Maverick seethed his teeth. "What's so funny?" he spat.

Rocket looked back to him, then stopped laughing. "I own you." Then with a sharp forward jerk of his face, Rocket head butted Maverick backwards into another cylinder.

"AH!" Maverick shouted out in pain, grabbing his forehead suddenly. The guards tensed and kept their weapons on Rocket's head. The mechanical fox's eyes lit up with rage as he looked at Rocket, this time, with a clear hatred in them.

"Alright, Rocket. Two can play at that game. Unfortunately, I have some talking to do with dear old Sam. I'll deal with you later… right after she and I- have our fun," he chuckled, with a evil glimmer in his eyes, "our _real _fun."

Rocket lunged forward after him, only to be tossed back by three different guards. "DON'T YOU HURT HER!" He roared. "I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN TO THE END OF THIS GALAXY IF YOU DO! MARK MY WORDS!"

It was too late now.

* * *

His words were silenced as Maverick slammed the door of Sam's room.

Sam happened to be in a luxury suite of the penthouse they were in- chained on her arms and legs, sitting on the silky sparkling red sheets of a king-sized bed, while faint penthouse music played on the speakers above her.

Her vision was strangely clouded- making it extremely difficult for her to see and move…. how, she had been trying to figure out. Then it hit her.

Drugged. Sam had been drugged by the psycho! Of course Maverick would try that on her.

"Like it?" Maverick smirked, "I created this romantic setting just for you, yah know."

"No," Sam deadpanned, snarling at him as the chains kept her arms and legs against the bed. "But I would like it more if you got a little closer… so I can claw every inch of that ugly fur off your stupid face and stab you a few more times."

A smug expression still visible on his face, Maverick stopped at the foot of the bed, making Sam shift uneasily as she repositioned herself on the bed so she was sitting on her knees, facing him. "Mmm, you'd like that wouldn't you?" he smirked again, "but I think you want me to get closer for something else…"

Sam snorted. "Don't you wish you psychotic pig. Go find someone your own age, grandpa. Better yet, do the world a favor, and, SCREW THE HECK OFF!" She shouted the last part at him ferociously, her fur bristling with anger.

"Now, now, Sam…." Maverick soothed her, walking next to Sam, and moving his paw along her face softly, which she tried to bite, before he quickly moved it away. "Let's keep our tone of voice at a minimum. We don't want to disturb the lovely men I have stationed outside your room… or should I say, _our _room," he added with a wider grin.

"I would rather be 6 feet under before I get in bed with you," Sam growled, "which will be never. Not after what you did… what you did to those kids."

The fox's ears twitched at hearing this, and he looked at Sam with a light laugh. "Oh, so that's what this is about, huh? Those kids? Boo-ho, a few little children die during my bounty hunt. And that gives you the right to stab me in the back?"

"I thought you could change, Maverick…" Sam said softly. She brought a paw up to his cheek. "I thought I could change you." She slowly retracted it from his red fur, her facial expression slowly turning sour. "But then you killed all those kids…. They didn't even have to die, Maverick!"

"I am changed, sweetheart. This is me changed," Maverick said with a chuckle, his eyes staying straight, staring into Sam's hurt ones. "And those little brats deserved to die! They would only try to kill me later on for killing their parents, you and I both know that!" His voice rose, spitting with clear disregard and anger.

Sam shook her head vigorously. "But they weren't even in school! That doesn't give you the automatic right to kill 7 children!" she cried, a tear or two starting to fall from her eyes. "I loved you! I trusted you! You- you were staring to change! I saw the good in you when no one else did! And yet you decide to become a child murderer."

"WE'RE BOUNTY HUNTERS, SAM!" Maverick roared in her face, his entire fur coat starting to bristle just as hers was, and his eyes lighting up with rage. "What do you think we do? We hunt, we kill. Sometimes we kill a person who isn't our target, but that doesn't matter as long as we're alive! An adult, a guard, a civilian…" he stared Sam in the eye. "Or a little frightened Xandarian boy holding a teddy bear. Do you really think you can get through your job without killing a single child? Do you think you can be a bounty hunter without doing something you don't want to do? Because if you do, then you're just a fool as Rocket is."

"No."

Maverick quickly glanced to her, his eyes widened. "What?"

"I won't. I won't kill a child. I don't care if I'm an assassin. No matter how bad they may be, I won't do it," she stated firmly. "And Maverick- I was wrong to think you could change. And because of that, I will never love you ever again. You're a monster."

The fox's head twitched violently a second, his eyes starting to get large as ever. "Now, you'd better watch what you say there, Sweetheart-"

"I wish I'd killed you back there," she continued, "and I'll love Rocket until the end."

"I guess you're right… but you didn't kill me."

Sam gasped, petrified as Maverick's shadow suddenly loomed over her. "Maverick, what're you-"

Maverick grinned as he sat on the bed in front of her, and set his gun on the floor next to the bed. "Oh, nothing…" he slowly moved to Sam, and forced her onto her stomach, the weights pulling her down as Maverick kissed her hungrily along her neck. "I know you've wanted me, baby…." He mumbled.

Sam felt herself start to turn to stone. "Maverick-" she growled, resisting the urge to moan which would only make him more motivated to do more intimate things to her. "Please- stop. She couldn't help it anymore. A moan left her throat.

Maverick chuckled at what he thought was a sound of pleasure, and cooed in satisfaction, sitting up from her, before removing his duster. "I knew you couldn't resist. You wanted to know what I'm doing, right now?"

Sam dared to nod, feeling even more frightened as she heard him start to undress. There was no stopping him now. _Rocket… help me… please… I do love you… _she silently cried and pleaded inside her head.

"I'm going to re-do what happened that night you decided to stab me," Maverick smirked. "Starting with us doing this… and all you have to do is lift your tail, and it will all be over soon."

Sam felt a slight kick near her side, but wouldn't do as he commanded. "No," she growled, starting to shake with fear.

"This will be a lot less painful if you do…" Maverick cooed seductively, biting on her neck.

_I can't let him do this to me. Not now. _Sam cried out slightly, but wouldn't do what he wanted, keeping her tail lowered, even as he bit down harder.

He pressed down with his teeth harder, biting her scruff and sinking his teeth deeper, growling impatiently. "DO IT!" he ordered, "you will be my mate!"

"N- no!" Sam whimpered, shaking uncontrollably as she felt his presence hovering over her, waiting... for her to make the wrong move. "Never!" she added with a defensive returned growl, feeling the growl roll into a pained one.

She felt him put all of his power into biting her scruff, and cried out in pain. "NEVER!" she cried, "I love him!"

Sam soon felt the pain boil within her... she was getting ready to submit to this vicious beast.

Tears started to form in her eyes. _Rocket... please... help me. _She begged inside her head.

When all seemed hopeless, right when the thought arrived the sound of a laser rife penetrating the lock on their suite door, followed by a light kick flung the door open.

Standing there, panting and breathing heavily, was Rocket Raccoon. He aimed the weapon at Maverick and didn't waste any time, firing a beam into his nude back. A cry of pain erupted from the fox, as he slowly fell to the ground. Rocket saw Maverick's clothes on the ground and almost retched with disgust, while also feeling more anger boil inside himself. _He…. He tried to take her as a mate... that crazy, sick, psychotic piece of crap!_

"Rocket!" Sam cried joyfully, smiling as tears of joy came down her furry face, which was both embarrassing and joyful in the circumstances of this situation. Now able to move, she took the moment to fix her jumpsuit, and zipped it back up all the way.

Rocket shot all the chains keeping Sam down. She rushed over to him, nearly colliding with him in an enormous embrace. "Thank you!" she cried, into his shoulder, wiping away her tears quickly. Rocket hugged her back, closing his eyes as he did so. "It's okay, he can't hurt you anymore," he whispered soothingly, hugging her even closer to his chest.

Feeling many emotions overcome him, Rocket leaned back from the hug. Then, smiling, and still looking into her eyes, they both pushed their faces against each others…

...

And they kissed. Their lips meeting first, followed by their mouths slowly sinking into each other, as they relished in the moment, with their eyes closed. Rocket moved his arm around her waist as he kissed her back softly. Enjoying his first kiss with her for those few seconds, Rocket then retracted his lips from hers finally, panting lightly.

"Okay… new plan… Quill is NEVER told about this happening," Rocket stated firmly. The two raccoons giggled slyly, before they finally decided to set their priorities straight.

"We need to get our weapons!" Rocket said, quickly running and retrieving them, "I found Quill, 'Mora and Groot because of the radio that kree guy had! They're right below us outside, just a city block down! I have a zip line ready for us so we can get out of here," Rocket quickly explained, rushing out the door.

He heard the sound of rushing Kree soldiers from downstairs. "Uh oh," Rocket stated. "Guess we'd better go up."

The two rushing up until they'd finally reached the top floor, where they found the zip line Rocket had set up. "Go on without me," Rocket ordered, "I need to make sure Deadshot and his goons don't follow us."

"What?" The romanticness between them ended as she sent a glare at him. "They're going to kill you! And if Maverick's still alive-"

"I'll kill him, don't worry!" Rocket shouted, interrupting her. He saw the soldiers starting to emerge from the stairwell across from him, and knew there was no more time.

"I won't leave you behind-"

Rocket forced Sam forward once she was safetly hooked to the zip line, sending her screaming down through the air. "Sorry babe," he murmured, before ducking into cover, as the Kree advanced.

It was time to end this. Deadshot was going to die.


	16. Showdown on Knowhere

**A/N Boy, was this chapter a workout! I'm done for tonight, that's all I can say folks! Sorry for the delay, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. I know you guys'll love it... took me FOREVER to write this thing, but writing the fight scene was definitely worth it, let me tell you.**

**Don't forget to R&amp;R! ;) Enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter 16: Showdown on Knowhere**

* * *

Where is he?" One soldier asked, looking around wildly.

"I don't know, I can't get a location on the target!" another shouted back, "anyone else having any better luck?"

"No joy!"

"No joy!"

"No joy!"

The rest received the same codded response, which basically meant, 'No.'

"Switch to flashlights, we should be able to find him then," the commander replied.

Within a few minutes, the penthouse top floor was filled with a dozen flash light beams. The group of black armored soldiers spread out into the area, scanning for the enemy.

"We'll split up!" The commander decided firmly, "groups of two, no less. The game has changed."

"Where is Mister Deadshot?" one called out.

Turning his head to the ground briefly, the commander shook his head gravely. "The commander's gone dark while interrogating subject JP369. We've lost contact with him since then," he bluntly responded, searching around some more.

"Now no more talking!" The Commander barked quickly, "focus and find the subject!"

He walked a little further into the darkness, keeping a firm grip on his weapon. Readjusting the shoulder aid, he looked back at the man with him and beckoned for him to follow with a wave of his hand.

Around them more, at least 4 more soldiers were searching throughout the floor, in two groups. They shuffled more until they reached an archway, one left pathway leading to lounge, the right pathway leading to a seemingly deserted section of the top floor. The two small groups conveniently decided to split up.

Blaster lighting illuminating the pitch black darkness around them they two continued further inward.

Until a loud thud sounded behind the one in front.

He turned around and readied his laser rifle, squinting a little closely to find what had caused it, only to find his unconscious ally on the ground. The soldier quickly sat up and looked around in alarm, swinging his gun around wildly. His night vision visor lit green on his cam, but no enemies were visible.

Then a sharp but tiny prick on his neck made the soldier flinch. The Kree man grabbed for what had hit his neck, only to retrieve a dart the size of a needle in his glove.

And he fell to the ground, meeting the same fate as his partner had, revealing a determined looking raccoon standing hovering over his body, a small smile built into his sly face.

"Good night yah punks," Rocket said with a chuckle, loading another small dart into his machine gun.

It was luck really that Rocket had decided to take along that pack of sleeping darts Dey had recommended at the armory. He was never one to like fighting stealthily, but this was a special case. His patience was wearing thin, but knowing he would get to deal with Maverick soon, Rocket wasn't complaining.

At least not mentally.

Grumbling, Rocket quietly darted forward on all fours, his machine gun on his back so he could move faster than normal.

Another thud. Soon the commanders' body lie face down on the ground like the rest of his men had.

All that remained now was finding this Maverick character, and putting him in his place.

Rocket's journey brought him stealthily walking down the stairs to the floor below him. He kept his machine gun grip to his shoulder, carefully taking each step, tensing each moment he stood, as if thinking he were to be shot at any moment he tried to walk. Or that a mine would try to go off.

The breathing of himself, and he hum of the air conditioning unit was all that he could hear in the room. Sometimes the ships outside occasionally flying by would alert his ear drums and make his ears prick, but Rocket would dismiss it and continue focusing on the darkness in front of him.

_Geez…. how can this guy see? _Rocket tried to answer the question which strayed in the back of his mind.

Being the 'thing like him' Rocket is, he has very good natural night vision. But Rocket had Sam for reference and knew for a fact Maverick wasn't a raccoon. He'd thought at one point he could be a red raccoon, but once again like so many other thoughts he dismissed it.

Apparently, someone had decided to cut the lights while he was upstairs, which he suspected was the crew of enemies that had arrived after Maverick had been shot.

The heart of Rocket Raccoon beat steadily with each footstep he took into the darkness. He started to make out the shapes of the soldiers he'd killed, their corpses rotting and infesting the ground around him, scattered everywhere. No Maverick was seen, however. Whether he was waiting for him or not was a mystery he was about to uncover. Passing by several suite doors, walking one foot in front of the other as if testing to see if were hung over, Rocket slowed his breathing dramatically as the open suite door of the room Sam had been kept captive in came into his line of vision.

Before he could even take in what was happening, a loud screeching sound of a lever being pulled echoed throughout the structure. Then Rocket's vision was over-taken by an array of blinding light and loud whirring sounds all around him. He closed his eyes and flinched furiously, fur bristling defensively as he lunged around, expecting a solider to ambush him from every corner of the room. Rocket gritted his teeth together, eyes now wide and open, scanning for threats, to which he detected none. Eyes now adjusted to the light, Rocket now realized why this had happened: The power was now back on. The entire structure around and above him was now lit with bright lighting.

* * *

Watching Rocket from the labs of the mysterious classified facility, Grimlock stood, changing the cameras so he could see Rocket clearly.

A man stood beside him… only the visible backside of his black armored jacket could be seen by his guards behind him as he stood, watching the organism. He black-toed boots shuffling anxiously as he kept his hands behind his back. The black hair of the man was brushed in a smooth manner so it seemed wavy somewhat, but it did look cleaned and refreshed. The man had clearly been pampered each day, but Grimlock knew it was only appropriate, for he was the leader of this facility, and had been for thousands of years.

His Master. Grimlock's Master, to be exact.

Behind the two, lines of not Kree soldiers- but cyborgs, stood. All perfectly identical, 6'5 in height exactly, same red eyes, which were not fully alit at the moment, all steel humanoids and killing machines, ready for this man to use.

But no, they were not killing machines, at least not in the mind of Grimlock's Master…. they were experiments. Just like all of his enemies had turned into. They were a threat many years before, but no longer now. Through thousands of years, and about 14 centuries, this men and women had lost everything that had remained of themselves for trying the hand of Grimlock's Master….. except for one thing left. Their spark. The spark of their brain, which remained in one single chip. That chip kept each of those humanoid machines alive. You could strip them of their arms, legs, eyes and mouth, and they would all still keep going. All because of their chip. As long as that memory chip remained, the machines would continue to live on, until it was destroyed. He'd designed the chips so each of them would be connected to Grimlock, and himself, so that way depending on whether they were active or not, they always had allegiance to him. What better way to make use of his dead enemies, than to make them undead? It was the perfect scientific way of torture, and of usefulness.

Just like they say on Terra: Refuse, Reuse, Recycle. That motto was humorous to Grimlock when he heard it.

The mysterious man gazed ahead at the image of Rocket on the monitors, than checked the status of JP293 and JP369: Alive. JP369 was _alive. _So was Rocket. That was a relief to him at least. It made things easier on his mind knowing that 369 was also intact, even though she wasn't needed. The fox, of course, wouldn't understand the meaning of _intact, _even if it slapped him in the face several times.

Grimlock also had been watching the screen flicker, and his optics glared brighter as he glanced to his Master's side. "Master, JP293 is in danger of being killed. Should we not try and-"

"No." The man's smooth but firm voice commanded, putting out a gloved hand In Grimlock's direction. He glanced back to the monitor. "He can handle this. He always has…. for the 7 years he's been alive."

"Are you certain of this, sir?"

The drone of his second-in-commands voice made a smile twinge the edge of the man's lips. "Have faith, Grimlock. Rocket _will, _kill Deadshot. He is nothing compared to what Rocket's killed and defeated before. You've seen what he can do, haven't you Grimlock? I know you remember those few years ago."

The cyborg's eyes flickered intently, as if thinking back to it. "His training results are still in the archives, yes. Off the charts in firearms accuracy, reflexes, strength, and many other things."

"Then you should know a fox is nothing compared to what this organism is capable of," his creator insisted.

Feeling along the keyboard of the monitors above him, and looking up to see Maverick's shadow rush past the camera screen, he grinned.

"You'd best take a seat and enjoy the show, Grimlock. This is what I have been waiting for. This, is what JP293 was built for."

* * *

Weary that someone or something was controlling the power, Rocket attempted to inch closer towards Sam's doorway.

Only, when he was within eyesight of where Maverick's corpse was supposed to be, next the bed, he found only a smeared blood stain.

And the red drippings of it lead directly the doorway Rocket was at.

_He couldn't have cauterized the wound already, could he? _Rocket thought to himself.

His own blood turned cold at not just this, but as dust fell from the rafters above him which shuddered and groaned under the weight of some unseen force. Rocket's head shot up as he trained his gun at where the dust had come from. Someone was up there, he knew that much. Waving the barrel around the radius above himself, Rocket shifted himself uncomfortably, fur continuing to bristle in alarm. His eyes meant with the glass of the large penthouse he was standing inside of, where he saw the reflection of himself. But it wasn't just him… someone else was being reflected off, right above Rocket. The image was a mixture of something red and a blur of light… and it was moving.

_Maverick. _Rocket dared to think the name as he shot around, readying his weapon, right as he found the killer lunging from the top of the suite, his eyes glowering with hatred and his teeth bared. Not having much reaction time to think, he found himself falling onto his back and accidently losing grip on his much favored weapon, which slid at least 7 or 8 feet down the tile floor from him.

His assailant bared his teeth grudgingly and rose one of his paws in the air where a glimmer of light reflected off of his combat knife. He grabbed Rocket's throat with his other paw and attempted to drive the knife down towards his neck, but Rocket fought with all of his might and grabbed his armed hand with both of his paws, grunting and chocking as Maverick squeezed on his windpipe even harder. Maverick managed to slip Rocket's grip and stabbed viciously at his throat only to drive it again the hard tile flooring, giving Rocket a chance to grab his knife had again as Maverick resumed pushing it towards his throat area.

_Why… won't….. you…. DIE! _Rocket nearly roared the words as he drove his knee into Maverick's groin. The fox yelped slightly, but only growled out of anger and tightened his grip. Rocket flicked his knee inward again a little harder this time, causing Maverick to yelp again and to loosen his grip, allowing for the raccoon to headbutt him, sending the fox to the ground next to him. Maverick swung back around, snarling as he slammed his blade into where Rocket's hand would've been if he hadn't moved in just in time. Lifting his feet and launching himself, Rocket landed on top of Maverick and grabbed his knife hand, managing to deliver a quick punch to the face as he used a leg to keep Maverick's free paw down.

Unfortunately, Maverick's bulk also overpowered Rocket's own, giving him the opportunity he needed to send them rolling across the floor, scratching and growling at each other aggressively like a couple of housecats. However, it was futile for Rocket to try so hard, for every swing and scratch he took he was slowly losing energy.

Grasping ahold of Rocket's throat again, Maverick grinned as he pushed the knife to his throat, but Rocket quickly grasped it to stop it from penetrating his throat, and kept ahold of it.

"Look at me…. I wanna see the eyes of the damn thing that thought he was good enough for my mate…." Maverick said, grinning sadistically, "ya know, it was fun. Fighting against you back there. But you want to know what felt even better than fighting you and watching you bleed?"

The merc leaned in close to Rocket's ear, and whispered, "Screwing Sam."

Now, in this situation, mocking Rocket or insulting him was one thing. But someone claiming HIS girl as their whore? For Rocket, that crossed the line.

"She's- not- your- mate!" Rocket seethed into Maverick's face, before suddenly jerking his body to the side. This forced the knife straight across Maverick's own wrist holding Rocket, causing him to release hold on the raccoon and to shout aloud in pain as he cursed. Rocket bunched up his fist and punched Maverick as hard as he could across his face, sending the fox off of him and tumbling onto the ground as the raccoon delivered another swift side kick to his jaw.

Then, getting all the stamina and bravery he could muster, Rocket sprinted for his machine gun. He ran with all of his might and nearly dived for his weapon as a hot beam from Maverick's laser weaponry sliced through a hair on his back, sending a chill throughout his body as if he'd actually been hit. Blood pounding throughout his body and his adrenaline starting to rush dramatically, Rocket snatched up his weapon from the ground and rolled behind a wall as another beam zipped straight through a glass window, shattering many sharp shards of the window everywhere.

"You can't escape me, Rocket!" Maverick's voice shouted to him, firing several more beams in his direction.

"I ain't trying to scumbag," Rocket retorted loudly, returning fire with his weapon.

The gunfire and the constant river of bullets clinking against the ground rang in his ears even in the sort bursts they returned back and forth. The next few minutes was filled with the sharp buzzes of laser beams and bullets being exchanged, Rocket firing and returning back to cover.

He quickly turned the corner to find that Maverick's weapon fire had ceased, and that the fox had ran from the cover he'd been hiding by. _No…. he's not getting away with this that easily! _The footsteps of Rocket' boots slammed into the ground as he charged down the hall after the criminal, just barely managing to catch a glimpse of his red fur down the hall. A stream of bullets fired by Rocket's weapon rammed into the wall where Maverick disappeared at, while the running of his boots continued out the door and around the corner. Rocket ran through what seemed to be a public lounge area, slowing down eventually as he came to see that he was actually overlooking the lounge area. He stopped all the way and crouched down as he heard Maverick yelling from below.

Shaking his head, Rocket smirked. _This guy never learns, does he?_

* * *

Maverick scrambled behind the countertop and trained his gun stealthily over the top of it, having only escaped Rocket's line of sight a few minutes ago. Several glasses toppled over, but he ignored it and kept still on the chair he was using to stand on to aim over the counter. It was a good thing he'd taken the opposite path. Now all he had to do was wait for Rocket to come for him.

"Come on already, little man!" he shouted outloud, standing up, "I'm right here!" The sadistic grin that he always held on his face appeared again, and widened while he looked around his radius for the raccoon. "You ain't 'fraid of me, are you?"

More silence crossed, except for the faint sound of Penthouse music coming from the speakers above him. The ears of the merc twitched impatiently, and he curled his lip, revealing gritted canine teeth, before shooting around and firing several beams into each of the speakers, causing them to immediately halt their tune, and for several small explosions to sound.

"COME ON!" Maverick yelled outloud, "we can party here all night long, my friend," he continued ranting, jumping onto the counter top, then onto the drink stand above that.

Glancing around quickly and scanning the area with his mechanical eye, his night vision picked up nothing, nor any sounds, or anything out of the ordinary.

"You know, Rocket, you and me are similar in a way, more than you think. Want to know why I think that?" Hearing no reply, he continued. "We're both killers. Both killed. Been there, done that, don't think anything of what we do." He lowered his tone of voice a little more quietly and chuckled outloud. "You know why little Samantha thinks I'm such a monster? Because I've killed a kid. 7 of them, to be exact," he continued, walking in a circle around the barstand, still scanning around for Rocket. "And if I hadn't killed them that very two years ago, they would probably be gunning at me if I hadn't. That's why I don't regret a single damn thing about it."

His voice came out cold, heartless, sounding like he didn't even care about what he'd done to them. Maverick let out a hysterical laugh then paused, grinning. "You know what I find, _funny, _about this story, Rocket? Considering she's stabbed me in the back for killing a few kids? What would happen if she found out you'd done the same thing? What if, _you _were a child murderer, _WHAT IF, _you _are _a child murderer right now, but ain't grown the balls to spit it out?" Maverick squeaked a little before laughing, laughing so sadistically that he nearly ran out of air. Panting to regain his breath, he added with a continuous grin, "now, _THAT _my friend, would be a might convenient coincidence. So let me ask you, Rocket: Are you really as big a saint as everyone thinks you are? Are you really a pure Guardian of the Galaxy, with no sins at all?"

The click of a machine gun being readied above Maverick made his ears prick.

"No one's got no sins, pal!"

Machine gun fire sounded from above as Maverick tried to duck to dodge it, only to feel a bullet piercing the back of his vest. A yelp mixed with a loud growl escaped Maverick's throat as he lunged back around to find Rocket crouching on one of the rafters. Seeing his opponent, he fired a beam at him as Rocket made a desperate attempt to dodge it by lunging to the next rafter. He fired another red-hot beam which Rocket narrowly avoided as he leapt onto one of the light posts.

His luck ran out however, as he lost hold on the light post, and his paw claws scratched down the surface of the light.

By the time he'd gotten hold again, Rocket suddenly found a paralyzing chill shoot throughout his body, jolting his body forward and causing his eyes to widen as big as ovals, followed by a really, REALLY hot sensation in his back, slowing climbing the ladder of pain. It seemed to originate from one part in his back, and the pain expanded throughout his body slowly as his nerves attempted to function. As his nerves did get their feel back, Rocket wished they hadn't once he felt the full extent of the hot feeling in his back.

Rocket realized something very grave. He'd been hit.

* * *

Grimlock and his Master were watching the scene very intently.

The optics of the robotic assassin moved to the man beside him. "He does not look to be doing well, Master. Are you certain he does not need outside aid?"

His Master did not flinch of even tremble, but instead _smiled _at Grimlock with a knowing look in his blue eyes. He smoothed the wave of his black hair, and with another show of his hand, replied, "No. Not yet. He has resistance to pain, he can handle it. Let him work it through. I know he will defeat this fox. Have faith In my words, Grimlock."

* * *

Shouting angrily and cursing to himself out of pain, Rocket swung around the other side of the post in attempt to dodge another beam, only to fall onto a metal chair right below, scattering drinks on the table he was next to and knocking over the chair he'd landed on. Another groan escaped his throat as he tried to stand, and as the pain boiled in his back from where the hot wound of the laser beam was located, but Rocket tried to ignore it, instead focusing on where he'd dropped his gun.

The firing of Maverick's weapon didn't give him much time to look, however, for it sent him sprinting into cover behind the flipped over table next to him. He sighed in relief as he noticed his weapon, sitting on front of the holographic slot machines just behind the barstand, but flinched again as another heat wave of pain sent a sharp chill up his spine, making him growl angrily.

"Come on, shake it off and stop cryin'!" Maverick taunted with a laugh, firing several more warning shots near the table he was hiding behind while he walked towards his position. "Bullets ain't gonna hurt me boy, this here's Ravager vest, and I think you know as well as I do they're bullet proof-"

A lightbulb lit up in Rocket's head just then. _But they aren't fireproof. _The cock of a weapon pump sent another lightbulb in Rocket's head alit. One telling him to take cover. Like right now.

_That's a grenade pump! _Rocket told himself as he sprinted as fast as he could away from the table, ducking and diving behind another table as the sharp whistle of a grenade round sailed over his head and completely demolished a row of holographic slot machines. He didn't get any time to recover as he heard Maverick casually walking around the barstand, whistling to himself as he loaded another grenade. A grin appeared on his face as he saw the raccoon.

Rocket's eyes widened again in panic as he began sprinting again with a growl as more pain burned in his back. He braced himself as he heard the cock of the grenade pump and leapt backwards this time onto the ground, a good call as the grenade destroyed a perfectly good table and pair of chairs right in front of where he would've been if he kept running. A cloud of smoke was all that remained in the table's place, and metal scraps of its remains.

Continuing to run, Rocket instead decided to hide underneath the barstand where the drinks were supposed to be made, and there, he silently waited to hear for a sign of Maverick. _Please don't let him know where I am…. _he begged to himself, panting quietly as he listened for Maverick's footsteps. The sound of his boots came closer, and Rocket could hearing the sound of debris being scattered, drinks splashing against the ground and liquid flowing and dripping off countertops. Somewhere in the distance, slot machines that were somehow still active after Maverick's grenade hit them were spilling coins and going haywire, and the sound of a fire starting could be head. Rocket could see the reflection of small flames dancing off of a crystal glass sitting above his head. In front of it, Maverick himself stood.

"I'm gonna find you some day, you little rat! You may as well stop hiding now and let me finish this!" Maverick growled outloud firing another grenade round into a group of tables and chairs, sending more debris into the air, and more smoke to appear. He paused to pump his grenade launcher, and scanned the area, looking for Rocket.

With a quick flick of his head, he saw the bar stand again and ran forward, now sure he'd found Rocket. "Gotcha now!" Maverick lunged overhead and training his weapon on- the ground. Rocket was gone.

Growling for a moment as if confused as to where he was and cocking his head to the side, Maverick twirled himself around to look for the raccoon.

"Looking for me?"

Rocket appeared behind the rails in front of the slot machines, just starting to lift a chair he'd received from the table into the air. Grunting with struggle, but now having surprisingly subsided most of the pain from his injury, Rocket tossed it into the air towards Maverick's direction, right as he raised his weapon to fire at Rocket.

Time seemed to slow in that moment. Teeth grinded together, weapon grip to his shoulder and aiming down his sighs, Maverick quickly moved his sights up to the object instead. Applying a small amount of pressure on the trigger, a grenade from his weapon impacted with the airborne object only a couple of feet away from Maverick. This became his big mistake as the blast sent him onto his back.

Also reaching the slot machines, which Rocket was running for, the blast sent a certain raccoon's machine gun propelling into the air. Rocket squinted his eyes as he saw the object start to fall towards the ground, and with a huff and a grunt, he ran up to a fallen chair, volleyed off the side of the barstand and snatched his weapon, and landed directly in front of Maverick, who was still trying to sit up from the ground.

Cocking back his safety so Maverick could hear it, the fox sat up and perked his ears, before turning in Rocket's direction, just in time to find a burst of machine gun fire hit him in the chest, knocking the merc onto his back once more.

In a simple small spray of bullets, Rocket un-narrowed his eyes as he calmly moved the grip of his weapon away from his shoulder, and settled his eyes as he watched Maverick twitch.

Maverick started laughing almost immediately, followed by a small grunt, probably a result of the bullets winding him so quickly. He bent his stomach over and slowly sat up from the ground with another grunt, and grinned up at Rocket, now holding his own gun with one hand. As if finding Rocket to be a complete joke, he put a hand in the air and shrugged, smiling.

"You just don't get it, do you, Rocket? I am WEARING, a Ravager vest! How'd do ya really expect to kill me if your lead shit ain't gonna do it, huh?" He laughed again and picking a stray bullet out of his red coat, which was now full of bullets which had stuck themselves in his coat like little pins, he readied his gun to his shoulder again on Rocket. "Too bad you won't get to find out," he added coldly.

Rocket only stood where he was, and didn't flinch as Maverick aimed his gun at him. This time, a smiled tugged at his mouth, and formed a grin wider than Maverick's did. "Oh, no, buddy, it ain't the bullets ya have ta' worry about."

A few seconds after the gun-totting raccoon said this, flames starting to coat Maverick's entire body in less than a second. His eyes turned as wide as Rocket's had when he'd been hit by that laser, and he start to whimper at first, than screamed and cursed as he attempted to put out the flames which started to burn his coat fairly quickly. Rocket tossed his head back and let out a laugh this time, as he watched Maverick dance up the small step, just standing there with his gun lowered. "How does it feel to be on the other side of the barrel, you friggin' pycho!?" he shouted.

Still too busy shouting and cursing to respond to Rocket, Maverick finally got the idea and pulled off his duster, which was a flaming wreck, at this point, and fell in front of a large penthouse window, still trying to rid his paws and chest of flames visible on him, cursing more and more. Once he'd just about finished, he heard Rocket approach him from behind and smiled, as he turned his now blackened red furry face to look at him. His smile disappeared quickly as he saw his enflamed coat a couple yards away from him.

"Well look at that," he said with a small laugh, his burnt paws shaking furiously from his wounds, "you burned my favorite coat. I am soooooo heart broken." He than let out another laugh, so loud that it became horse a few minutes later. His mechanical red eye rested on Rocket's double beady brown gaze, and he re-spawned his grin upon his face. "Go ahead, kill me. It ain't going to fix anything or make nothin' better. You and I both know it." He raised his arms up, revealing harshly blackened and burned fur along his chest, and some along his right arm. Now without his coat, he simply wore a vest like Rocket's, which probably wasn't any kind of proof, hopefully.

Rocket's first instinct was to pull the trigger right now and finish the job. A loud growl rumbled through his throat, telling him to kill this psycho right now and be done with it. Finish the job. Kill the wackjob and go home. He'd almost raped Sam, he tried to kill her too, and beat them both up publicly. He'd killed 7 children and many others who probably didn't deserve to die.

This wasn't the way to kill a devil like him.

With a glare that defied the god of death himself, Rocket tossed down his rifle and tightened his paws into fists.

"No. You and me, right now. No guns. No grenades. Just you and me," Rocket demanded, feeling the fire of the slot machines around him grow even more intense.

Flames flickered and dancing in the twos' eyes as they stood their, on that floor of the penthouse, staring at each other. Maverick's one mechanical eye flickered, and the red pupil moved a little, scanning him up and down with a straight expression as if trying to decide if he was playing a trick or not.

Then, reaching down to his ankle sheathe, Maverick slid a combat knife out with one paw, flicking it between his fingers in a flash of reflected light, grinning devilishly as he stared at Rocket.

Rocket leaned down and retrieved a knife of his own, which ended up being Sam's own serrated knife, which he'd 'borrowed' from her when he'd went after Deadshot, and glared back up at Maverick, feeling it in his paws. "You wanna play knives? I can comply buddy."

Shouting down the wooden floor of the penthouse, Maverick lunged at Rocket with his knife, swiping the air as Rocket darted backwards. The raccoon and the fox paced in a steady circle, melee weapons readied, as the two glared and kept eye-contact with each other. This time, Rocket attempted a quick swipe through the mid-section, only to find his knife connect with Maverick's, and the fox slid his weapon down Rocket's blade with a hard push, allowing him to quickly nick Rocket across the shoulder with his knife. A small grunt came from Rocket as a small bit of blood dribbled out from his shoulder wound, but he lashed out at Maverick with three more reckless slashes. Maverick responded by dodging the first two, then parrying the third and elbowing his knife hand when it was extended enough, forcing Rocket to let go of his weapon, and for him to take another knife slash across the same shoulder. It wasn't much bigger, but hurt a little more this time, and bleed more.

* * *

The man observing Rocket with Grimlock noticed Rocket not preforming as well with a knife as sighed. "Arrogance was one of 293's traits, I almost forgot. No matter." He turned to face Grimlock. "Activate code 48050020. Let's see how much our subject really remembers from the training academy…."

"As you wish commander," Grimlock responded deeply with an obedient dip of his cloak.

After scrolling through several holographic projections, on one of the nearby monitors, he came to the code screen. "Initiate Subject JP293 Code 48050020." He ordered in a perfect, clean voice.

_Initiating Code 48050020: Hand-to-Hand Mastery. Are you sure you wish to confirm?_

Grimlock nodded. "I confirm."

* * *

A sudden jolt shot through Rocket's mind after gaining distance and losing his knife. He didn't know what it was, but somehow….. somehow he knew he could take this guy. Hand-to-hand moves of all sorts flew through his head. Defense moves, offensive maneuvers…. and some pretty sick kicks.

Rocket wasn't sure how he had remembered these things all of a sudden, but nevertheless, he readied his fists this time, waiting for Maverick to get closer so he could try it out.

Smiling challengingly, he waved his fingers forward towards himself, as if taunting Maverick to try him.

Try as he might, the fox did. Rocket waited until Maverick swung out his knife towards his face, and the raccoon didn't try to move back or grab it, but he moved the opposite direction of where the blade was moving and quickly sent a punch to Maverick's face. The fox snarled at this and recoiled slightly and aimed a front kick aimed towards Rocket's chest, but he leaned down to the right and dodged his attack, delivering an upwards kick with the tip of Rocket's own foot to Maverick's jaw, knocking the behemoth mammal several feet backwards.

He cracked his jaw back into place, and narrowed his eyes at Rocket, surprised clearly at his sudden burst of martial arts. Discouraged and enraged, Maverick tossed his knife down into the wood and curled his large paws into fists, glaring at Rocket. "Enough of this! You want to kill someone, do it with your bare hands!" He roared, charging straight at Rocket.

For the first few minutes, the two exchanged a dozen punches towards each other, many of which Rocket easily blocked like a pro. He uppercutted Mavrick's gut and kneed him in between the legs before ducked downward to dodge another kick, and grabbed ahold of his foot, slamming the bottom of his palm straight into the fox's foot. Maverick howled with pain, which turned into a snarl of anger. He attempted to move his other foot, but Rocket pulled the foot he was already grasping and forced Maverick to the ground, before rolling backwards to avoid a sharp kick from Maverick's non-injured foot.

This time, deciding to take the offense on his weakened assailant, Rocket hopped forward and stroke his left foot outward, striking two fists which Maverick used to block his chest from being hit. Maverick swung at him this time, but faked his punch at the last second, allowing him to block Rocket's intended off-guard punch to his gut, and giving him a chance to grab Rocket's arm, and to punch him in the face.

Rocket was sweating now. The heat of the rapidly spreading fire around him was tugging at the ends of his fur and turning him into a pile of water, literally. As the punch connected, he tried to use his second hand to punch, but Maverick grabbed ahold of his second wrist and headbutted Rocket as hard as he could.

Though the raccoon normally would have a concussion at this point, he simply stirred a moment, than cracked his neck, beamed at Maverick, and laughed. "You really suck, ya know that?"

He lifted himself up using his legs and quickly pumped they against Maverick's chest at the same time, sending him flying in front of a broken window, releasing Rocket finally. The raccoon landed on his back, but propelled himself back up using only his legs, his fists readied again for action.

Now, lying on the ground, coughing blood, and smoke from the enraging fire, was the famed mercenary Deadshot. Rocket snatched up Maverick's knife as he approached the fox, shaking with anger, now back to his normal self. Maverick sat up from the ground slowly and coughed out another splat of blood, grinning stupidly at Rocket, the inside of his mouth now red with blood all over. One of his teeth had to be missing right now at this point.

"So this- this is how it ends then, huh?" The merc chuckled, dripping blood from his mouth, and his paws still throbbing from burn wounds.

Rocket ignored him and paused moment, suddenly forgetting everything he knew about those awesome kun-fu abilities.

_There it is again…. I knew how… then I didn't. The heck's going on? _

He shook his head again and continued walking towards Maverick, knife in hand, and glowered at him. "You tried to rape Sam. You tried to kill my friends. YOU tried to ruin my life!" He punched Maverick across the mouth with his free hand, forcing him to stagger closer to the window. Rocket lunged closer to Maverick's stupid grinning face and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. "Who the heck do you friggin' think you are, trying to screw with me?" He demanded, spitting viciously into his face.

More sadistic and disgusting laughter was all he received in response. Then the evil glow of Maverick's robotic eye, and is grin. "Why, I'm Deadshot of course." He leaned closer to Rocket this time. "And I'm coming back for you, you ignorant piece of shit."

The raccoon twitched, almost violently, and his eye started to blare with rage as he suddenly found himself driving his combat knife straight into Maverick's chest, causing more blood to spill out of his mouth as Maverick groaned and moaned slightly. He leaned back and watched as the fox fell to his knees and looked up at Rocket, and tried to grasp the knife to pull it out, but couldn't.

"No. You won't. Because you'll be roadkilll."

With a quick turn and slam of a roundhouse kick, Rocket plunged the knife further into Maverick chest, and sent his body out the window.

In a few seconds, Maverick, and Deadshot, were gone. Down into the traffic of the speeding ships below.

Rocket leaned over the edge, panting extremely hard, hoping to see Maverick's corpse, but didn't have enough energy to look down before he felt his wounds tugging at his skin, pushing him back inside onto the ground. If he hadn't noticed before, he sure did now: the smoke from the fire was starting to get into his lungs. It was difficult to breathe…. so difficult… yet Rocket didn't care.

Maverick was dead.

That was his last thought, right before the mixed panicked voices of Peter, Gamora, Drax, and Sam flashed through his mind. He turned in surprise to look, but his vision faded away slowly, as he fell to his knees, and slowly drifted away, as Sam caught him in her arms.

* * *

Watching the emotional scene commence after Rocket's victory, as the team of Guardians of the Galaxy cowered over his half-alive corpse, Grimlock's Master smiled.

"Excellent. Simply excellent," he said with a sigh of enthusiasm, smiling.

"It seems as if the subject hasn't forgotten what he knows," Grimlock remarked.

"Indeed, Grimlock," the man agreed. Looking at another Guardian on the screen, he added, "now... I just have to know. Does the boy remember, what he knows?"

Turning away from the optics of the monitor a moment, he sighed and added, "does he remember who his _real _father is?"


	17. Love me like you do

**A/N Early chapter, my hommies! Enjoy! And guess what? I left a surprise for you guys in this one... one you've been waiting for, let's just saying. *looks at past reviewers.* I mean you guys in particular.**

**Don't forget: R&amp;R**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Love me Like you do**

* * *

_Rocket. Rocket._

A voice sounded somewhere within Rocket's head. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the faint and steady beeping of machinery.

Or was that a voice inside his head?

_Rocket!_

Rocket opened his eyes, now wide awake. He slowly tried to sit up, only to be forced back down by a familiar Terran hand.

"Hey." It was Peter, not Sam as Rocket had expected it to be. "Easy their buddy. You took a heck of a beating back there against that guy," he explained, chuckling lightly, but not smiling like he usually did, for this was not a smiling matter.

Rocket returned the chuckle with a small smile as he looked the right at his bandaged shoulder, where he could see the machinery he was hooked up to that had caused the beeping sound. "At least I took 'em out. He wasn't that hard, Quill, really."

Peter frowned, looked down at the ground and sighed with frustration, palming his face, then glanced to Rocket with a serious facial expression. "Why do I find that hard to believe? Laser wound to the back, several knife slashes to your shoulders and chest…. Rocket, what the hell were you thinking? This guy could've killed you."

Replying with only a snort, Rocket kept his smile and looked up at Peter. "Stop makin' such a big deal outta' this you softy, I'm fine, and ain't goin' anywhere," he replied arrogantly, finally finding a minute to sit up all the way in his bed.

"Hey!-" Peter stopping trying to adjust him when he saw that Rocket wasn't in pain at all, or didn't seem to be. "That- that doesn't hurt you? Not even one bit?"

"No. Why? Should it?" Rocket asked carelessly, tossing his arms in the air, and shrugging his shoulders several times to show he could still use them.

"Actually, yes, it should," a feminine voice from outside the doorway answered.

Walking into the room was Gamora, Drax, and Groot. Rocket couldn't see Sam at the moment, but was happy the three he saw right now were alive.

Gamora moved the part of her black hair that was in her face and sighed, putting a hand on her hip as she looked down at Rocket sternly. "You are lucky we managed to get you to a doctor who actually knew what he was doing in time. We were worried sick about you. Tivan told us that your laser injury didn't penetrate all the way because of your vest, but there was a possibility you could gain permeant injury to the back, resulting in the disability of your spinal column and various other problems. How you aren't hurt the least bit is surprising….. but it is good to know you are safe." Doing the thing Rocket least expected her to do, he felt as Gamora ruffled the fur on his head playfully with a gentle smile.

Rocket smiled back a little, but it disappeared as he heard the name he'd thought he wouldn't hear for a long time. "_The Collector?" _Rocket repeated, wide eyed now, "Tanller Tivan?"

"I am Groot," (The crazy man who made his big house explode last time we were there, yes.) Groot confirmed with a solemn nod.

"Thank you for the elaboration, Groot," Drax murmured outloud.

Peter shot around and put up a hand to Drax's face. "Ah! I don't want to hear from the mega thesaurus who _fell asleep _on _my _ship when we were being attacked by like a million copies of the Tin Man!"

Not giving him a chance to respond, he looked back to Rocket and nodded once more. "Yeah," Peter replied with a sigh, uneasily scratching his head, "that Tivan guy. I don't trust him still, after that stunt his lady pulled with the Infinity Stone, but he was the only other doctor who wasn't busy treating people."

Rocket's eyes darted to Sam, who just appeared in the doorway of his room. They lightened up as he noticed her, and a smile started to grow on his face. She didn't come to him though. Just looked at Rocket with sadness and walked away.

Peter noticed where Sam had disappeared, and looked back to Rocket. "Oh, believe me, she is overjoyed your breathing, trust me," he said with a laugh, "she wouldn't stop talking about you and whether you were going to die or not. She might not show it now, but she will later."

"What's wrong with her then?" Rocket asked, quirking his eyebrows with concern. He hoped this wasn't one of those medical scenarios where everyone else knew the patient was going to die but wouldn't say until the end.

"What's _wrong,_" Gamora interrupted, "is that you nearly got yourself killed over managing to kill that Maverick character. Sam told us what happened up there-"

"And she's not happy about it," Peter finished, gulping and raising his eyebrows up and down slightly, as if nervously thinking about Rocket's reaction to this. "She seriously thought you were going to die dude," he added in a quieter tone of voice. "Not to joke or anything- but I honestly think she _really, really _likes you. Loves you even."

Now, hearing Peter say that Sam loved Rocket so casually in front of everyone would've generally made Rocket claw his ears off, but in this case, he couldn't deny that the half-Terran was right. Sam did love him, especially considering she was making a big deal over him nearly getting himself killed.

He gulped and gave him a nod back in return. After that, Rocket really wanted to change the awkward silence that now plagued the room, following Quill's suggestion of Sam loving him.

"So uh…. can I leave then?" Rocket asked. He moved the covers aside, happy to see that he was at least wearing clothing of some kind, and sat on the side of the bed, letting his feet hand down and touch the floor. It was white robing… but at least it would do until he could get his stuff back.

Peter shrugged. "I don't see why not, considering Dr. Crazy isn't exactly a real doctor and can't keep you here like those Nova Corp doctors can."

"I'll go talk to him," Gamora offered, "and we should be off this planet as soon as possible after I do."

* * *

No surprise, Rocket was able to depart from Tivan, and The Collector himself didn't seem to have any problem with him leaving, or any concern. His bandages were now changed, and his wounds didn't see that bad anymore, but the bad knife slashes were still healing and so was his laser rifle wound.

The process of recovery was over. Deadshot was actually _dead _this time.

Now came the hard part. It was time to talk to Sam.

Peter followed him as far as the living quarters and stopped with Rocket. "I'm going to go talk some more to Tivan. Sounds like he has something he wants to talk to us about. Meanwhile, I'll leave you two alone so you can talk. If I were you, I would seriously re-consider trying to talk but…. If you really want to do this-"

"Quill," Rocket interrupted, chuckling, "I get it, stop worryin'. You've been doin' a little too much o' dat lately, chief. Don't tell me you're gettin' soft on me now."

The Half-Terran snickered and shuffled his feet, putting a hand on his hip as he propped his back against the wall of the Milano. "What can I say? No matter how much of an annoying little shit you are sometimes, you're still family. You get that, right?"

"Awe, stop it!" Rocket laughed, forgetting that he'd called him a 'shit' because of the soft-talk, "you're making this conversation freaking depressing man."

"Yeah, well, you are, I hope you know that," Peter repeated.

"Whatever. I'm going to go have that talk now," Rocket decided, starting to open the door.

"Good luck, you're going to need it Rocket," Peter replied right as the door closed.

Waiting for Rocket, leaning against the wall was a conflicted looking Sam.

Now he was 100 percent sure he was screwed.

"Come in. Let's talk," she bluntly said, but in an ordering manner, as she averted Rocket's eyes and allowed Rocket to lead her into his room.

Once Sam and himself were well out of earshot, and inside his room, Rocket was not surprised to hear that she'd decided to explode on him.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Sam shouted, narrowing her eyes at him. "If so, you were pretty damn close to succeeding!"

Rocket shook his head. "Well I'm not dead, am I?"

"Don't even start that little game," she growled, "you KNEW, Maverick would've killed you, and yet you still tried to take him."

"He didn't," Rocket replied, "and that's all that matters. I took the guy out easy-"

"When we got there!" Sam interrupted. "You would've suffocated to death back there if we hadn't found you when we did!"

"I had him, Sam," Rocket retorted, "and I smoked his ass!"

"Maverick-"

"Maverick was right where I wanted him," Rocket interrupted, "and I took him! I don't get why you're makin' a big deal over it!" He bunched his fist and tossed it down back to himself out of anger.

"But you could've been killed!"

"And why do you care?" Rocket walked up close to her, glaring at her. "Why do you give two craps about what happens to me? After all, I am too cold-hearted- oh wait, I almost forget, I don't have a heart apparently!" he added, "I quote a certain drama queen."

Rocket panted, his eyes narrowed, and his teeth clenched in a twist of rage. It was more of an affectionate rage, really. He wasn't actually that mad at her, even though he didn't want to admit it, he was just annoyed.

Sam's eyes widened at his sudden furiousness. "That is not true-"

"Why the hell do you care anyway?" Rocket repeated, crossing his arms.

"Rocket, don't you get it yet? I love you dang it!" Sam finally snapped.

The male raccoon stopped dead in his current expression, then moved up close to her- so close that he could hear her heart beating. "Prove it," he urged.

His gaze locked onto hers, and for a few seconds, they both said nothing, as if trying to figure out where the go next. Sam took a step forward towards him, Rocket did the same, and he knew where to go from here, just by the look in her eyes.

Almost exactly as they did this, they launched into each other, and pressed their mouths together, allowing themselves to kiss. Sam's paw went to his cheek as she deepened the kiss and closed her eyes. Rocket didn't try to protest.

The warmness of her lips engulfed his own mouth, and she slowly started to smooch Rocket even more, while Rocket adjusted to it and did the same to her. His eyes closed, and his mouth opened and he puckered his lips softly against hers, and continued to allow his body to go on auto-pilot, as he proceeded to continue kissing Sam. In those few seconds… Rocket's heart beat had quickly picked up, but he was calm and in satisfaction. He realized something that was very hard for him to grasp, something difficult for him to understand: He loved Sam too.

Rocket and Sam both pulled away after a few seconds gasping rapidly for air, and the two both blushed almost right away. "So you do love me?" He was silenced by Sam's lips pressing against his again.

"Just- kiss me," she mumbled, "and we'll find out."

And Rocket did just that. The two Raccoons continued to make out passionately. Rocket kept her pressed against the wall of his room, kissing vigorously, his heart starting to beat faster, and Sam moaning in between the smooches. The male found himself moving his hand down her hips slightly… and a sudden urge lead him to kissing Sam along her neck. She moaned once more out of pleasure, and allowed him to pleasure her further, as he continued kissing. "Rocket, oh~ bed, now."

Well…. things had certainly escalated now. At least not in the way most arguments would.

Rocket smirked mischievously and locked his door beside her, before leading her to the bed in hand. "You got it babe…. I know what you want."

Sam fell onto the bed in front of Rocket, and grinned up at him. "Do you, Rocket?" She quickly went to work, unstrapping his utility belt from his jumpsuit, and unzipped it straight down the middle, eager, and hungering for something more than a kiss, something that Rocket wasn't about to deny any time soon.

"Well… now I do."

Rocket smiled as she did this, kissing Sam, and preparing to do something that would make the night of their lives. Something that Rocket had wanted to do with her for a long time. Their tails flickered in a fast, excited rhythm at what was to come in those next seconds.

"Come on Rocket…." Sam panted, "you know I'm worth it."

She was indeed a match worth for Rocket Raccoon to claim.

_Ah, what the heck? _Rocket thought to himself, _I don't have that long of a life anyway. Might as well have some fun and enjoy having a girl for once._

Then, the two Raccoons' love for each other blossomed throughout that night. And Rocket Raccoon- well, he was having the time of his life. Literally.

* * *

Grimlock, meanwhile, shut off the imagery and audio of what happened from that point on momentarily, and looked to his leader. "It seems the two subjects have become intimate," he remarked quietly, trying to sound as casual as possible about it.

The man nodded once, than twice. "Yes… yes it does seem that way, doesn't it? The process of life is happening right now as we speak."

"Is 293 capable of reproduction, sir?" Grimlock questioned, trying to search his database for any leads on the subject.

"He is not supposed to be able to," the man replied after a moment of silence, turning off his imagery and audio screen, doing the same with all the others. He had no problem with this…. but decided it would be quite immature of him to watch such intimacy. They deserved at least a moment of privacy, he supposed, anyhow.

"But there's a slim chance he can. Until his system is fix, we will not know for sure," he continued to explain, "considering 369 is not spade…. there is a chance of an offspring, provided the two subjects do proceed correctly."

Hearing this information, Grimlock instead settled for watching 293's life and vital signs. Same with 369.

* * *

It had only been about an hour later that Rocket found himself lying in his bed- this time without boxers.

With Sam. He panted softly, as did his new mate, as they lied back to back from each other. They were recovering, you could say. Recovering from something Rocket had never thought in a million years he would do with a female. A FEMALE raccoon.

"That…. was…. amazing," Rocket breathed.

The two giggled slightly, and Sam moved around underneath the covers so she was facing Rocket. "I guess this makes us even then, huh?" She moved in on him and brushed her nose over his, kissing him lightly on the lips. Rocket returned it with a little more passion this time, smiling as he smooched her mouth.

The male nodded quickly. "Are you kidding? We're solid after this…."

He watched as Sam seductively moved onto him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled back at him and kissed his check, then his lips, and slowly resumed kissing him again. Before Rocket knew it, they were both making out again, but he had no rejections to it. The warmness of her fur's body heat and her lips kept the two both toasty, while they kissed and continued this romance with each other. It was all Rocket could do not to gag at how much she'd kissed in those few seconds, until she'd finally brought relief to him and pulled away.

"Feisty little thing aren't you?" Rocket joked, pecking her one last time on the lips. He felt as she settled on his stomach, and as her tail brushed over his legs repeatedly.

"I can be sometimes," Sam cooed seductively, sighing as she closed her eyes briefly, and nuzzled herself lovingly into Rocket's warm chest.

"Mmmm…." Rocket nuzzled the top of her head, "so… would it be safe ta' assume you've been waiting a while to do that with me?"

Sam was blushing now. "Well…. to be honest, yes."

"And you call me a pervert," Rocket responded with a roll of his eyes, putting on a goofy smile.

"Because you are, especially after what happened just a minute ago," Sam interjected, pecking his lips.

"That doesn't- well, okay, point taken."

"Just shut up."

"Make me."

"You are asking for it, big boy." She silenced his banter with another seductive and deep kiss on his mouth. She moved onto him and pressed her lower body against his, making Rocket growl silently out of pleasure.

"Now you're just teasing me, yet we've gone two rounds," he said with a small inward laugh, before being overwhelmed by another kiss.

Sam leaned back from kissing him and sat back down next to him, smiling still. "Round three is in the 'to be continued category' than?"

"Agreed," Rocket breathed, chuckling at the same time she did.

The two continued resting under the covers together for the next 5 minutes or so. They were filled with silence, but it was the good kind of silence you could say. Feeling Sam's body heat against his made Rocket feel rejuvenated and full of energy again, and he felt like he didn't need to fight anymore. Just like he did the first time he'd met her.

The peaceful silence ended with a sigh coming from Sam. "Maverick wasn't always like this, you know."

Rocket kept his back against hers, not wanting to move, for fear that coldness would return to his body, but listened intently as his tail waved over hers to keep warm.

"I met the guy back when I'd only just become an adult. I was technically still a teenager. And no, he's not a raccoon like us. This thing called a 'fox.'"

Rocket's ears pricked at the word as she continued. He'd already figured out before that the guy wasn't a raccoon, it was pretty obviously from the start anyhow.

"I took his bounty, and he didn't take it well. Couldn't tell that I was a girl at the time, until he was about to kill me. Then he let me live. I don't know what convinced him not to, but I could tell he couldn't. I woke up later on at his place. From that point on, we slowly got used to each other. Did missions together. Lived together, which turned into longer than I thought it would be for."

Sam's eye lashes waved over her pupils, weighing heavy as ever. It was clear that she was thinking about Maverick.

"I saw what he was like," she continued, "I saw what was wrong with him, and corrected him. Or tried to. He told me what'd happened to him, why he was the way he was when he'd had enough of me trying to correct him.

"Well, what happened to him?" Rocket quietly asked.

"He's not like either of us. If anyone had it the worst, it was Maverick. He wasn't a test subject, Rocket, he wasn't some mysterious animal who didn't remember half of his life. He remembered it all. Abused right from the start of his life. Was beat, forced to do work without pay, rarely got anything he wanted. Transferred to 8 different families, including this mercenary dudes. And in every single one of them, if he didn't do what they wanted, he was beat. Everyone though he was nothing but a freak. A worthless, stupid, 2 and a half foot freak. Maverick became a bounty hunter to get through the pain and to get by after that. Was the courier of his life." Sam paused to shake her head again. "After he told me that story… I understood. I felt bad for him, and I realized I loved him, and ended up in bed with him that night. At least I thought it was love, 'til I found out later that I'd only done that to make him feel better. I gave up my virginity just to make a guy feel better." Sam glanced back at Rocket. "That's how pathetic I sound. That's how pathetic and hopeless that fox made me feel. I thought I could change him after that. I could see that he was getting better…. he was making better choices, he was letting go of his anger, learning to control it. He even told me I made him feel like the happiest fox in the galaxy."

The words sinking into Rocket, and feeling her pain, he flipped around and pressed her close to him, softly stroking her fur. A tear ran down Sam's check.

"Then he did it. He killed 7 people, most that weren't even 6 years old yet. He murdered 7 innocent children who never got to even start their lives. 7 damn children, Rocket. I saw the autopsy report from the Nova Corp. He brutally stabbed some of them, shot some of them, and beat one to death. It was at that point I realized how much of a fool I'd been. I'd gave my virginity to _HIM? _No. That wasn't how it ended. After I saw all of their corpses, I cried my eyes out, trying to convince myself that it wasn't Maverick. 'It wasn't him, it wasn't him,' I keep telling myself. But in the end, I found one of his cartridges from his laser rifle. And it was him." Another tear dripped from her eyes, and Sam sniffled. She didn't really cry though. "I came back the next night. Found Maverick, sitting on the couch, looking pretty happy to see me home. I almost didn't believe he'd done what he did. But I knew he had. I stabbed him in the back. Even counted, I was so angry. 8 times, I stabbed him. Stabbed him so much I was crying by the time I'd run out of the room and escaped."

Rocket couldn't help but gap his mouth after hearing what she'd done, and what Maverick had done. So it was true. Maverick was a murderer. Sam was the vengeance god behind his 'death.' When they were in love.

"I understand if you don't want to keep this going," Sam sniffled, wiping away a tear from her eye, her voice starting to crack, "I wouldn't blame you. I'm a killer. I'm a whore. I'm a slut. I'm a toy. I'm a friggin' toy!"

Now she was crying. Sobbing and whimpering as Rocket held her, Sam burrowed her face into a pillow and continued crying lightly.

"It's alright, it's okay," Rocket tried to sooth her, "you're not a whore, or slut, or any of that crap! You never were!" As horrible as he was at this emotional stuff, Rocket didn't care at the moment. He wanted to make her feel better. He wanted to wash her tears away. It was the oddest feeling for Rocket, though it felt normal to him like he'd felt it before.

Forcing herself to stop sobbing, Sam lifted her head and glanced at him in the eye, sniffling again. "You- you mean that?"

Slowly but surely, Rocket nodded his head. "You didn't know, Sam. You cared about the guy and screwed up, it happens. How were you supposed ta' know the guy was a complete maniac?" he stroked her fur more. Reaching up to her face, he pulled her furry face to his, and kissed her as softly as he could right on Sam's lips. "And that's not true I- I do feel that way about ya. I ain't gonna lie, I'm not good at this kind of thing, but- I do feel it for you. And that won't change."

If Rocket hadn't made enough progress in getting Sam's attention, he had now.

With a returned kiss to his lips, Sam managed to crack a smile and kissed him a second time. "I- I know it's a little early for this, but, Rocket Raccoon…. I love you."

_Holy crap… she said it. _Rocket mentally gapped his mouth, but nervously smiled back at her. Now it was his turn.

"And I- I love you too." He blurted out.

It was after these words that the two raccoons shared a long gag-worthy smooch.


	18. Bonding and Understanding

**Chapter 18: Bonding and Understanding**

* * *

Following their encounter, and washing up after it, Sam and Rocket were both just nearly finished with getting re-dressed. Rocket could be seen just putting on a fresh jumpsuit while Sam placed back on her boots. They didn't care about dressing in front of each other since they'd already _seen _enough to not care, especially after today.

Rocket buckled his utility belt back to his lower jumpsuit, and Sam cooed behind him, taking in the last few seconds of Rocket's pleasing image before it covered his body once again. He zipped back up his upper suit and readjusted his body inside the suit, making sure his tail could wave freely without being crammed into the suit.

After he'd finished with that, he slowly made his way to the doorway of his room, Sam closel behind him. About to unlock the door and continue outside, Rocket's paw hesitated at the doorknob when he felt Sam's tail brush over his paw that was going to unlock the door. Thinking against what he was going to do, Rocket closed his eyes, sighed, then smiled as he glanced to his right to find Sam leaning in on him, and giving him a deep kiss on the lips once she reached him. Placing a paw on her check, he smooched her back, turning their kiss into something more as he moved his paw around her waist and pushed her close against the wall, pleasuring Sam with more mouth-to-mouth movements of his own.

"Relentless lil' thing aren't ya?" Rocket mumbled with a smirk, slightly nibbling her neck with his upper teeth.

A small moan of satisfaction escaped Sam's throat as he nibbled her, and so did a pant from their kissing, followed by a grin replacing her features. "I had to, you needed to be taught a very naughty lesson after trying to taunt me."

"I thought I'd already learned dat an hour ago, after you un-made me," he whispered back, smiling his normal goofy smile as he kissed Sam again, getting another one in return from her lips.

"Mmmmm…" Sam mumbled with eyes closed, kissing him deeply again, moving her tongue over his lower lip before taking another breather and a gasp as he suddenly nibbled her again. "But you do it like you've done it before," she adds accusingly with a small chuckle, cooing affectionately while Rocket softly nibbles her scruff playfully.

He smiled while he nibbled her, removing his teeth for a second to murmur, "maybe I have…. maybe I just wanted ta' have my first one night stand with a really hot and furry babe…."

A laugh escaped Sam's throat as she slowly closed her eyelids again and went to kiss him. "Oh, stop it…." she rumbled, moaning again as she feels Rocket's teeth softly move along her neck fur, "just don't~ stop this," she stretched with another pleased gasp.

Wanting to satisfy her, Rocket did just that. He stroked his teeth over her neck as seductively as he could, then bit down a little as if claiming her. The heat and excitement of it washed through his fur, and he almost wanted to reconsider waiting on that round 3.

He also knew that if he went for it, he'd been losing time to go talk to Tivan and them about what's going on.

"Naughty- much?" Sam cooed.

Rocket ceased his nibbling and leaned in close on her. "Hey, you're the one who begged me to take ya to the bed in the first place," he added playfully, smirking mischievously.

"And you're the one who decided to comply and do the work," Sam retorted, muffling his next words with a small smooch on his warm mouth.

Taking her kiss like a man, Rocket proceeded to continue kissing Sam. He felt as Sam slipped her arms around his neck, making a small purr sound erupt from his throat to signify his enjoyment while her mouth sunk into his.

As their lips puckered like this over and over again, and as they showed their love for each other, Rocket was deep in thought unknowingly. His smooches grew more shallow and less deep while his mind became flooded with memories, to the point where his lips were only brushing Sam's. His mate abruptly paused, her arms still around Rocket and gazed into his eyes with a concerned and concentrated frown. Sam's own eye sparkled into his, and may as well have hypnotized Rocket if not for the mammal being deep in thought.

"What's wrong?" she whispered, lighting puckering her lips against his again.

Not really paying much attention to it, Rocket returned the motion with a small kiss.

"I- I just feel happy," Rocket blurted out, not believing he'd said that, "really happy."

"That's great Rocket."

He palmed his face. "No, Sam, that's not what I mean! Listen to my words. I'm. Happy. I love you. I feel it for you. I SAID I loved you. How many things sound wrong with those sentences?" Rocket asked firmly, gazing at her.

His female counterpart frowned even deeper, creasing her beautiful blue eyes. "None of it. Why are you asking this even-"

"Okay," Rocket interrupted hastily with an annoyed sigh, "let me rephrase what I'm tryin' ta' say: How many of those things sound like things I wouldn't normally say?"

"Some….." Sam admitted silently, looking down at the ground for a moment, then back to him, looking a little worried, "is there anything wrong with that?"

"No!" The raccoon almost shouted the words and sighed again, closing his eyes, but softly kissed her as reassurance. "No…. of course not. I- I want to _think _so at least." He hesitantly paused, then looked at Sam. "Why did you join us, Sam?"

The female looked a-taken back at this. "Well…. I've been working on my own for almost three years, since I was almost barely a teenager. Loved working alone, honestly, barely trusted any strangers, and trusted almost next to no one. Then that human friend of yours found me on Xandar via messaging, and set up a meeting with me. Didn't trust him, but also figured he might have an assignment for me. Surprisingly, he did."

"What convinced you, though?" Rocket pressed.

Sam shrugged, gazing at him still. "I don't know really. I guess- I just wanted to see what it was like working with a team. That and when Quill mentioned that there was another one of my kind in his group, I got curious. Thought it was a load of Kree filth until I actually saw you. From there, things built up until now pretty much." It was Sam's turn to sigh at this point. "Just tell where you're going with this."

"I've just never _felt _this before Sam. Well- until Groot sacrificed himself on the Dark Astor to save my team from that Ronan freak," Rocket quickly admitted, thinking back to it, eyes narrowed thoughtfully, "after that, it like- triggered something in me almost. I cared all of a sudden. I mean, sure, I still made fun of Quill and got mad at him and all that, but- I actually _cared, _about them. It's like the feeling was so obvious to me, almost like I always did have it, yet I never understood that feeling until Groot supposedly died." Rocket paused, staring into Sam's eyes. "Then you came along, and we- did this. After I stopped that Deadshot guy from doing what he was going ta' do to ya and- you know….. I felt something else." He awkwardly stopped to scratch his head, blushing at this point.

"You love me."

"Y- yes, please don't say that outloud!" Rocket asked, palming his face again, "I'm still getting used to using the L-word, gimme' a break!"

Sam ignored him. "Maybe you just never knew you had them, Rocket." She leaned forward and stroked his face with one paw. "You might now think you didn't have them, but in my mind, we all have the same emotions. It just takes some of us longer to experience it, depending on what we dealt with in life. You just took longer to find out what love meant."

Sam still didn't understand, unfortunately. It wasn't that Rocket didn't know what it was until now that was freaking him out, it was that he actually felt like he'd FELT this before he'd gotten intimate with Sam. Meaning he felt like he'd become intimate before Sam…. as if he'd done the deed with someone else. But if he had, Rocket didn't know who. That was the scary part. A chilling revelation hit Rocket, and another image suddenly flashed through his head.

_Rocket seemed to be looking down at something in his paws. And he was sitting…. sitting inside a room a lot bigger than the Milano, judging from what Rocket could manage to make out in this scene, on a bed. A photo was what he was looking at…. of some other, young furry creature. It wasn't Sam…. but it looked brown, no grey- but it does look Brown._

He tried to think of a name. _Rocket, darn it, think! Who the heck was this girl's name? Who was she?_

_L. _Her name started with a letter L. That was all he could remember.

Whoever this strange girl was, it was obvious it was no mistake. Something was definitely familiar about her. There seemed like there were so many good memories about her, ones that Rocket had ceased to recognize, but also ones which he was afraid to remember and find out about. Like: What if SHE was the one he'd gotten intimate with which he suspected, and he didn't remember? What if she was his girlfriend, or some slut or stripper which had ditched him after a one night stand?

Oh man. If Sam could hear his thoughts at this minute, he was sure his guts would be decorating the room right now.

There were two things Rocket was sure about now: Yes, he'd done this with someone else before. And yes, Sam was not his first.

The question remained who exactly.

"Now you're just making this sound like a romance festival," Rocket mumbled with a small laugh. "But seriously, Sam, I don't know it's just- weird. These things I'm going through…."

"Maybe you should say the L-word again. It might help," Sam suggested seductively with a smile, slowly moving her arms back around his neck again.

Rocket let her seduce him like the temptress she was, and tried it. "I- I l- love you," he stammered nervously.

"Here, let me try, then you go: I love you," Sam murmured softly, delivering a few kisses to his mouth and rubbing his back with her paws.

"I- I-"

"No stuttering…" Sam giggled, putting a finger to his lips, and replaced her paw on his back. "Just take it nice….. and easy."

"I. Love. You." Rocket breathed the words one at a time, then sighed as she kissed him again. "That wasn't so bad."

"Now say it again. Like you mean it."

Rocket moved his paws to her hips and pressed his mouth to her lips, creasing her softly. "I love you," he whispered, shivering at how easily the words poured out. "I love you," he mumbled again under a kiss, smooching her mouth. Sam released a small moan as if acknowledging what he'd said while smooching him back. "I love you…" Rocket tugged on the zipper of her lower jumpsuit, while he kissed Sam, panting hungrily.

"Screw waiting," she breathed, "I love you too."

He wasn't about to disagree on round 3 now…..

Until a knock sounded at the door, when the two were hardly advancing. "I am Groot."

Rolling his eyes impatiently, he looked in the direction of the door and shouted, "be right there, Groot!"

Looks like it was 'to be continued' then.

* * *

"What's this about, Groot?"

"I am Groot."

"'You'll see' is not a valid answer!"

"I am Groot!"

"Tell me!"

"I am Groot!"

"Groot-"

"Hey, look who decided to show up today!" The cheerful voice of Peter Quill was the next sound which overcame Rocket's own voice as he and Sam entered the room, thankfully fully and carefully clothed as if nothing had happened. "You guys sure talk a long time," he remarked with a cheesy grin, looking from Rocket to Sam.

"Well we had a lot to talk about Quill. What do ya want me to say?" Rocket shrugged, narrowing his eyes at the Half-Terran in annoyance.

Peter smirked. "_Sure _you did. That explains those little noises Groot heard trying to walk into your room."

"What noises?" Rocket snapped impatiently, eyes darting between Peter, then to Groot, and halfway to Gamora and Drax.

Opening his mouth a little, Peter made a few hand motions, which were safe to assume weren't very clean looking hand motions, and he emitted small high pitched noises in between doing the motions.

Rocket's head shot around to Groot with a glare. "Groot, you didn't….." he breathed demandingly with a repeated shake of his head, gritting his teeth.

As if he knew he were caught, Groot's eyes widened and he put his hands up. "I am Groot!" he replied defensively, frowning at him afterwards.

"You told them?!" Rocket shouted outloud, eyes wild suddenly, "Groot, when I am finished here I am going to enflame your big ass corpse in an oven to well-done, then I'm going to rip off each of your limbs and shove them right up your-"

Groot gulped.

"So you guys did screw!"

"WHAT?! NO!" The raccoon yelled.

Hearing the exchange, Sam facepalmed and sighed. "Yes," she spoke up, "we did, so what? You want a cookie for being right?" She carelessly crossed her arms and looked at Peter like he was an idiot.

Rocket whined. "Sam, really?"

When he uttered this, Sam would ignore him and kept staring up at Peter, narrowing her eyes at him coldly. "It's none of your business anyway," she continued, "so why are you bothering us about it?"

"Because I can." Peter grinned devilishly and glanced to Rocket, who just gritted his teeth and growled at his stupid looking smile grudgingly.

Of course, Gamora had to step in now. "Peter," she sternly scolded him, "must you ask such an inappropriate question?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Ye-" Peter hardly got the word out as Gamora slammed her fist into his stomach, making him double over with a loud groan of pain. He slowly found his breath again and looked back up at Gamora, emitting a small moan of pain, then whined.

"Owwwww….." he stretched, voice pitch rising, then coughed several times as he looked back to Gamora. "Why-" he coughed again- "did you do that?"

Gamora flung her loose threads of hair behind her back and rolled her eyes, almost like Sam did, and leaned her hip to the side as she placed a hand on it in a sassy manner almost.

Sam smirked. She found it so amusing that this woman had so much control over Quill. She also had to admit, Gamora looked pretty at this moment, with her sleek black and curvy hair all neatly behind her shoulders, and her body titled to the side like that.

She wondered how she would like doing that in front of Rocket…. would he like it? Did he think she looked pretty sexy manipulating her body in that manner?

Other than that, she found herself drawn to Gamora. She barley knew anything about any of them except for Rocket. How, she had to wonder, did this woman become the way she was now, and still stayed an assassin? It than occurred to Sam that she had a lot of questions for the Guardians. Gamora was the one she really wanted to learn about, considering she was the only other female in the group. All she knew about Groot was that he was Rocket's right hand man and shield. Drax was a maniac who likes to punch people, doesn't understand the concept of humor, and gets angered too easily. And Peter is a complete imbecile and smart mouth jerk off who likes to talk smack about everyone he meets.

Those were all of Sam's interpretations of the Guardians, and her opinions of them all. Out of all, other than of course Rocket, Gamora was the only one she really liked and wanted to learn about.

"Because you are a despicable fool," Gamora would simply murmur, sticking her nose in the air again, and disregarding him with a turn of her head to Sam.

Peter coughed weakly, but reformed his grin on his face in Rocket's direction, making more un-clean hand motions.

Rocket grabbed ahold of his machine gun. "You know what, that's it! I'm done with-"

He paused as Gamora smacked Peter's shoulder, making him yell another putrid and pathetic, "OWWWW!"

As he rubbed his hit shoulder and whined like a little boy, Gamora rose her hand threateningly, her own eyes starting to glare at him again. "Then are you ready to stop acting like an immature child and grow up?!" She asked loudly, spitting, not really yelling, but talking loud enough to at least get the point through to Peter.

"Okay, okay, jeez, yes!" Peter breathed, frowning defensively, rubbing his shoulder, and slumping over because of his hit to the chest. "I was just kidding…"

"Then you need to knock it off," the green skinned woman demanded harshly. Again, she wasn't asking, she was telling him. Sam liked her way. Reminded her of herself.

The Half-Terran gave a sigh of relief when the alien lowered her fist, and grunting, swinging his arm around to get rid of the punch's injury probably. "Well, if you guys are done hitting me…. Tivan needs to talk to us about something pretty important it sounds like. Something about being able to help us track down the Infinity Stone."

Peter, Groot, and Drax started to leave. Sam was going to follow, but felt a small pat from Gamora's hand. "Hold on," her firm, yet soft voice insisted, looking to Peter. "We will be right behind you," she called to him, the returned her look to Sam, not waiting for an answer.

Rocket was behind the two, and exchanged a look with Sam, as if wondering if he should stick around. Gamora noticed him too. Instead of her warding him off, as if to answer, Sam walked up to Rocket, and moved to his face, delivering a tender kiss to his lips. It felt strange doing this in front of a member of her team, but with Gamora, it seemed different. Rocket seemed to feel weird too, judging from his reaction, but simply smiled and smooched her back as Sam gave him a nod to go on, and he left the room.

Wondering what exactly it was Gamora wanted, Sam turned her head to the woman, and looked up at her to meet her eyes. "Uh… so, what did you want?" It was more of an awkward question to ask. But it was sensible too, she wanted to think.

"Nothing." Gamora sat down at a metal table and gestured for Sam to sit. Sam scurried onto a chair, but she decided to move onto the table instead after a moment. "But I did want to apologize for what _he _harassed you and Rocket about. Peter is- difficult, let's just say. He hasn't exactly grasped the maturity level of most men his age," Gamora added with a small laugh, but was not exactly smiling.

Sam sighed, and returned with a weak chuckle. "You don't need to apologize for something that idiot said. I just- I just want Rocket to be able to like me _around _you guys, and not hiding from you guys. But your little hummie friend doesn't seem to make that idea easy."

In reply to this, Gamora could only simply nod in acknowledgement. "Yes…. he…. acts like this around things that have to do with intimacy and such…." She glanced to Sam, trailing off her train of thought. "Would you mind me asking a question?"

Sam shrugged. "Go ahead I guess. I don't care. It's not like we have all the time in the world to stop and talk anyway."

"How do you feel about Rocket? Are you happy with him, otherwise?"

The way Gamora phrased the question made Sam's answer seem so obvious and easy sounding: Yes, of course she was happy with Rocket. She loved him, she wanted him. They kissed, they shared stories, they understood each other, they bonded…. and they slept together, and had fun doing it. It was crystal clear she loved him.

However, now that Sam thought about it, there were a few things that bothered her.

"Of course I am…. I mean, I love him," Sam earnestly and carefully responded, "but…"

Gamora noticed her troubled glimpse. "There's something you don't like about him the best?"

"Y- yes and no," Sam admitted, her ears flattening a little at revealing this to her. "I really love him…. a lot. He's cute, he shows that he loves me, he- expresses it to me. We've bonded a lot I like to think. He's a jerk sometimes, granted," she adds with a giggle, "but I still love him." She then sighs. "M- my problem is that I'm worried. He's been acting weird lately. I think Rocket isn't sure- that our relationship is real."

Hearing her say this made Gamora frown at her. "Why would you say that? He really seems to care about you, from what I can see."

"He acts like until he met me that he never knew what love was, and still is convinced that he doesn't know what it is. He told me after we- you know, did that a few hours ago, that he felt like I was only a trigger to make him feel that way. And that he didn't mean what he did. He didn't _say _that he didn't mean what he did, but he gave me the impression that he thought that. I feel like- that I'm not the first girl he's slept with too. He says I am but… I'm not convinced. I'm worried that he has someone else." Her head sagged. "And I'm afraid he might try to end our relationship at some point because of it." Sam didn't cry, but did feel a little depressed revealing this, and she felt a small stomach ache and a case of nausea develop inside her.

Not that this woman would get it anyway.

Gamora nodded in what seemed to be understanding- though Sam doubted it, and zoned out as if in deep thought. It was a minute or two later when she looked to Sam, and sighed.

"Well, I will be perfectly honest with you, and I will only tell you the truth right now, Sam: Rocket is a difficult individual, to figure out. He is hard to love, he is hard to deal with all of the time, and he is certainly unpredictable and isn't exactly in the best moods all of the time. He's had a very hard past he's dealt with, and isn't proud of what he is right now. Though Rocket may not know I know this, I KNOW that he has been through a hard life. One that he did not ask for." She slowly smiled at Sam and placed a hand over her right paw. "But I do know this: Somehow, you love him. You accept him for who he is. You understand him. He loves you back. He accepts you, and he understands you too. You see and know what he has been through, and in a way- you are more like him than you think. Sam, that is what matters right now. I have never seen someone act so considerate over Rocket when he is close to death…. for the two days he was in the hospital, all you ever talked about was Rocket, and whether he would be okay or not. You cried over him, you worried for him, you showed concern for him. You _love, _Rocket Raccoon. I have not a clue how you do, but you do, and that's all you need to realize as far as I am concerned."

"What if he doesn't though?"

"He loves you, Sam. Believe me, this I know," Gamora stated, "and he is not going to try and take that back in heartbeat. I can see it. When he smiles, when he fights with you even…." She paused- "when he kisses you."

Sam's face reddened at this, and she smiled as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Thanks," she silently said with a nod of her head, "thank you for saying that."

Gamora nods her head back and smiles. "But of course. Do not hesitate to speak to me. Being the only feminine member of our group- I can relate to how difficult it is barely having a member of your gender around."

"How do you know so much?" Sam had blurted the question so loudly she almost forgot the words had left her mouth. "How do you know so much about relationships, I mean?" A grin appeared on her face. "Is it Quill?"

It was Gamora's turn to blush this time, and turn her face away with that sly ghost of a smile she had on her face. "Peter, is an imbecile, like Rocket. But I do see things in him. He's a good leader, does what's right for the group overall, and is good at making decisions. The man has a good heart, and for that, I respect him…."

She paused at seeing Sam almost smirk and quirk an eyebrow at her, as if gesturing for her to go on.

"-And _yes, _the short answer is yes, I may have a small liking for Peter Quill," Gamora added, smiling a little wider, "and yes, I put up with him, and leave him a few scars to keep him in line once in a while…. but I do admire and like him." She pauses again, and meets eyes with Sam's blue ones. "That leads me to another question: What do you see in Rocket, exactly, Sam?"

Sam giggled again, feeling her face redden into another blush. Now she was feeling a little more like a girl, being able to talk to another girl in secret. "Well…. he's cute, not number one, but he is pretty cute for a raccoon. He cares about me, loves me too, and shows it. Also…" Sam leaned up to Gamora's ear, and whispered, "he's a darn good kisser too."

"I would not blame you for admiring that trait. I would not want a pig's filthy and greasy lips touching mine," Gamora replied slyly, making Sam and herself laugh. "I would want the male's lips to be smooth…. and delicate."

"Those are Rocket's all right." Sam nodded, giggling again, remembering the feel of his mouth touching hers repeatedly while they were intimate a few hours ago. It was an awesome feeling, and it was a pleasurable experience too. One which lead her to revealing more things to Gamora. "And there's a few other things too."

Gamora absent-mindedly smirked and nodded once. "Do enlighten me."

"He has a nice and big body too," Sam whispered mischievously, referring to obvious parts of it when she said it, judging by the way she giggled, "and he's pretty fun in bed."

"Now you are just stating the obvious…" Gamora said, waving a finger at Sam, smiling, making her laugh. "But yes, it is important for the one making love to you to have good attributes to make the experience enjoyable."

"Hey, you're the one who said 'enlighten me' in the first place!" Sam laughed, "don't get me started there sweetheart!"

And their conversation went on, forming a bigger bond between them both.


	19. Master

**A/N I owe a serious apology to those interested and following this. School, writer's block, FictionPress stories have all played an enormous role in the delay of this 19th chapter. I am sorry for the two month wait, but know that this story is NEVER getting abandoned. I love to write this thing too much to stop.**

**But enjoy, despite my delay. ;) And don't forget to leave a review if you want! I love to hear comments!**

**Next chapter coming MUCH sooner.**

* * *

"Tivan."

"Star-Lord."

The man the Guardians knew by as 'The Collector' shook hands with Peter Quill. Just as always, he was no different. Black and grey furred robes, white hair sticking up straight, black around his eyes with a seemingly perfect frown on his face.

And a collection. The last time Peter or Rocket or any of them had stumbled upon the man's variety of specimen, they'd all been destroyed because of Tanller Tivan's assistant, Catarina, when she attempted to open the orb and use it. And she was now dead. It not for the fast reaction time of the team, they would surely be dead as well. Now it seemed to be slowly in the rebuilding process, more species and items containing various values within themselves in the collection.

Drax however, had not met him before. When he did meet him during this moment, he found the tall human to be very odd and peculiar, even though he considered just about everyone weird.

Sam found it pretty clear all of them had met this 'Collector' figure. Or Taneller Tivan. Rocket had explained the entire story to her through the rush of them going to meet him, which she was not at all surprised to hear sounded like a very bizarre story. Bizarre was Rocket after all.

"I see you've rebuilt just about everything," Gamora noticed from behind the two raccoons, glancing and gazing at the odd objects in the room and other crazy lifeforms.

Tivan nodded once, then twice, moving with very slow ease to a railing of his set of stairs. For a moment it looked as if he were old, senseless, out of this world- even though he pretty much was. The way he was zoned out, eyes wide open, staring ahead at one object in particular. He closed his eyes and took a deep satisfied breath. "Indeed. It, was not an easy task without use of my assistant, but it will do. The collection will be rebuilt in time."

Rocket nearly stumbled over as Tivan shifted his feet and gazed down at him. The man's eyes lightened up slightly at the sight of him.

"What're you looking at, crazy?" Rocket asked with raised eyebrows, shrugging his shoulders.

Tivan did not seem to take offense in his words, and they only made him smile a little. "Hmm… yes, yes, yes, I do recall you. The one they call Rocket. The one who's lovely coat would make a perfect accessory for my fireplace."

"What?!" Rockt's fur bristled.

"Yes please," Peter spoke up, rolling his eyes, "you'd be doing us a great favor if you took him off our hands."

"That can be arranged…."

"Quill, you suck sometimes, you know that?" Rocket retorted.

"Only sometimes."

"Or all of the time." Rocket added quickly, noticing that Gamora was giving them both the evil eye.

As if to try and antagonize the mammal even further, Tivan moved to Groot. "And- it's a Groot," he gasped, almost in recognition.

"_The, _Groot, correction," Rocket spoke up defensively, glaring at him.

"What did you want to speak to us about Tivan?" Gamora asked out of annoyance, trying to clearly change the topic.

Tivan turned his cunning smile to Gamora's direction and widened it a little further as if recognizing the woman- and he clearly did judging by the glimmer of familiarity in his eyes. "Gamora, my dear… it's a pleasure to see you again."

"Please cut the pleasantries. You saved one of our own, and now you wish to speak to us. I would take the time as it is given," Gamora insisted with a roll of her head, letting her curly hair hang low freely.

Immediately, the Collector seemed to understand the importance of the situation and gave a small nod of his head, his face straight, and his eyes going to the ground, then to Gamora again. He stood, then turned all at once so he faced Peter. "This machine who attacked you…. do you know the name of it exactly? Did this contraption happen to seem like it knew who you were?" Tivan questioned.

Rocket became pressured by Tivan asking Peter the question. He did know the name… but revealing it now when his allies barely had any knowledge beyond what he was expected to know himself would make him look suspicious.

What would they think of him? Would he be considered a traitor?... Would they hate him?

His time was running out as Peter opened his mouth to reject the comment. "Uh, no, we don't know his name…. but the guy did act like he knew us, that's for sure. I quote Mister Terminator, 'I know more about you than you realize Mister Quill' or something along those lines. He really acted like he knew who I was out of everyone." The half-terran's head turned to Rocket. "Other than him."

"Grimlock," Rocket blurted out finally.

He received several pairs of anxious and narrowed eyebrows of confusion from his allies, including Sam, revealing that she hadn't heard the name either clearly.

One pair of eyes, however, were of realization. Tivan's eyes were the ones which held this.

"Wait- who?" Peter asked, closing his eyes and opening them, his brows narrowed to an extreme level, squinting down at Rocket like he was a tiny ant. He looked back at Tivan once Rocket didn't answer immediately. "You know what he's talking about?"

"I recall the name," Tivan slowly said with a nod, looking at Rocket cautiously as if figuring out exactly how he knew such a name.

Gamora looked ready to ask and interrogate Rocket with a million questions, but sighed in frustration and gazed to Tivan. "Grimlock, you say? Tell us about him. Everything you know."

"Everything? My, my, that will be…. a very lengthy story. Are you sure you wish to-"

"We have all the time in the world Tivan," Peter interrupted, "so do enlighten us."

"Very Well." Tivan sighed, paused, and then leaned against the rail of his compound. "I am not very knowledgeable concerning the man himself…. as much as you would think."

"Man?" Rocket quirked his eyes at the word. "You're sayin' that tin can's a dude?" His eyes bulged out of his head in the little brown beads they have always been. Although the raccoon wasn't entirely dumbfounded by the idea, he still had his doubts about Grimlock, including his humanity.

His tall white hair seemed to twitch near the top at the remark. "He _was, _a male terran, yes. Still is, if I were to tell the truth, but not entirely. Whatever remained of Grimlock's humanity and personality is now lost forever. His master has made sure of this. A creature who has fought against Grimlock for a decade. The two clashed many times if I recall, and at the time, Grimlock was a very lethal freelancer mercenary who worked for the Kree Federal Government. In the end, he managed to hunt Grimlock down, for when the man froze him in a stasis chamber trap and handed him to the Kree for a sum of millions of credits, so they could study him for his power. When this particular creature and man escaped and found Grimlock and had cornered him…. he was not only taken, but changed. Permenately. I know not how exactly, though I do know for certain Grimlock is now close to fully being machine over terran. Body armored, intelligent beyond what most species' minds are capable of processing in their normal mind state…. and perfect in almost every sense. His allegiance is sworn to one man, and one man only: His master."

"Who is his master, Tivan?" Gamora glanced at him and leaned against to look in his eyes. "Who?" She repeated.

Peter's eyes and Rocket's also demanded the answer from the Collector as he spoke. Tivan smiled a little and aimed a chuckle down at the ground.

"His master, yes. As I have mentioned before, I do not as much about him as I should… I can tell you, however, that he is the very reason I know what I know about his pet. Grimlock never leaves his side, no matter the circumstance, unless he is no longer needed. Dealing with his master is likely to summon the cyborg himself." The man seemed to zone out for that minute until he realized where he seemed to be heading, and caught himself. "But Astroliopa…. he knows much about his enemies. He always takes care that he knows them, mentally and physically. All weaknesses, all strengths, every event that has occurred throughout their lives… even the very center of their soul. You all, and this man in particular…." He pointed directly to Peter. "-Are his focus, it seems."

"And you know why this Astroliopa figure knows him," Gamora added on, patiently waiting for her moment to rebuke him.

"That is something I am not at liberty to say at the moment."

Gamora cocked her head to the side. "Do not try my patience, Tivan. That very sentence _puts _you directly in the center of our current situation." She wagged her finger at him and stepped closer to the man, curling her lip sternly. "He has the _infinity stone, _does that not mean one thing to you? Astroliopa could _destroy _the galaxy you live in at this very moment, if you continue to withhold the information you have!"

Tivan stood tall, a little stunned by her words and frowned down at the green alien woman, but did not seem that fazed by her words. Perhaps it was the black eye liner he usually had around his eye lids, or his seemingly permanent straight and blank expression with the ghostly white tall hair. Either way he didn't looked angry exactly. "Gamora, my lady, some secrets are better left unrevealed," he calmly interjected.

Peter laughed a little at Tivan's words and scratched his head uneasily. "Why, because the guy told you not to say anything? Is that it?"

"He has told me nothing, Mister Quill," Tivan slowly said with lowered eyes, gazing to him calmly as he attempted to stroke Gamora's long hair, to which he received a sharp tip of an unsheathed blade underneath his chin.

"Then why hide such things from us? What do you have to gain by lying for this creature- or man?" Gamora demanded with a small snarl, keeping it below his chin just barely, angling her blade right below his jaw.

Tivan continued to blankly stare at her. When several men attempted to dart up the stairs with loaded weapons of some sort, he motioned for them to stay back without looking. They returned back down the stairs with obedient reluctance, but did keep a watchful eye from what Peter could see.

"I have said enough," he insisted firmly, glancing into Peter's eyes. "Believe me when I say this, Mister Quill…. who Astroliopa is will be a mystery that is best left untouched. Whatever you feel you should know, I would heavily insist that you disregard that intention and vacate now while you are able to. Not only for the good of you, but for the good of your companions as well. He will not destroy this universe, but he may just attempt to destroy your friends to find you, and plenty of other people as well. And somehow, I feel that is not something you wish to test. I reveal who he is now, and that will make this even more painful in the end."

Peter sighed. "We _have to, _TIvan. We _have to _find this orb, or whether this guy means to destroy the universe with it or not, it will be in the danger zone. He's no different than Ronan. I don't like this either, but when it comes to the Infinity Stone, it's all or nothing. If we don't do this now, there won't _be _a reason to save people. There won't _be _Guardians of the Galaxy if what you say is true. There won't be a wacky as heck Collection on this place, if it's true. And there might not even be a galaxy if it's true. All Thanos has to do is get one mitten on the orb, and then _all _of us will be in the danger zone. We don't formulate a game plan and go after this guy now, there will not be a universe to save or live in when Thanos gets it. You don't even know how powerful or reliable this Astroliopa dude is, and somehow _Tivan, _I don't feel like that is something _you _want to test. Even if it means I have to face something I don't want to hear, I need to know. I'm going to have to if I am going to go find that Infinity Stone anyhow. Now tell me: Are you going to sit on you butt in that stupid robe all day, and watch billions of people die when you could've saved them with this decision, or are you going to tell me something that might just save a heck of a lot more lives than what might happen if you didn't? Because right now, I am stuck in a ditch unless you get me a pickup truck."

Dead silence overwhelmed the room, and Peter swore he could hear his heart beating in his ears. Beside Groot, Rocket whistled. "Dang," he murmured, "that was better than Quill's last speech-" An elbow to his stomach from Sam cut him clean off.

As if he were no longer stuck in time, a small smile appeared on his face, and Gamora lowered her sword. "Very well spoken Mister Quill. I cannot say directly _who, _the man is, but I can tell you about someone who can not only do just that, but they can take you straight to where his base of operations is located. He may just be able to help you find a weakness in Grimlock as well- but be warned. If you do intend on such a quest being pursued…." He reached into his desk drawer in the middle of the room, and pulled out a small slip of rusty yet preserved paper, and handed it to Peter. "You may find this number come to your aid at some point. I know not why it would… but Astrilopa had given this to me as a favor, saying that if I ever did wish to stop by, I simply had to type in this code. Odd as it was, he did mention it was 'a loyal experiment.' As if that were to mean anything to myself."

As Peter thanked him, the other guardians took a glance at the numbers. Rocket crawled onto Groot's shoulder to see the numbers for himself.

**_L714_**

He felt like somehow he knew what that code stood for…. But just could not place his fingers on it.


	20. Eyes Everywhere

**A/N I apologize for the 3 month wait. Between school, writer's block, and FictionPress work, I have been VERY busy. :( Really sorry guys, this wait was extremely uncalled for... so much for the 'much earlier chapter'. I hope I still have readers and reviewers out there who haven't given up, because if there's one thing I know it's that this story ain't going NOWHERE. It will never be abandoned, and will be finished. That I can promise you.**

**The story gets a little creepy here... just a little warning. **

**Be sure to read and review! :) And Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year! **

* * *

**Chapter 20: Eyes Everywhere**

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Peter followed the prison warden with the rest of the guardians down the hall.

"So who exactly is this guy we're looking at?" He asked, checking the holding cells on their sides as they walked down the steel secured doors.

The warden brought up a large bright blue image on his electric scroll, and slowed his pace so they could see clearly. The image contained a bearded man with a wild unibrow. He had a very sadistic looking smile, and was missing two teeth in very random places along the top row. Rocket cocked his head at the interference around the left side of his head, realizing that he must have been trying to resist when they had his hologram mugshot taken. He had an incredibly large burn mark on his right cheek, and snickered with his ugly smile and his crazed eyes… almost sending that crazy look to Rocket's own gaze. The long wavy hair he had that hung down to his chin wasn't enough to conceal his gaze either.

This must be the man that Tivan had mentioned.

Sam shivered a little at the sight of the terran male, stepping next to Rocket, keeping her side touching his fur. "Jeez, can the guy at least shave…. or pluck that eyebrow of his?"

Rocket twitched at feeling her so close to him. If this were any other girl, he would freak out and possibly end up yelling at them for trying to touch him. He would've activated that reflex if his body had not processed who it was in enough time, and instead, he slowly put his paw around her waist, something he'd seen Quill do before. _Hope I'm doing this right…. god this feels weird. _He muttered inside his head.

At feeling his arm, Sam rose her eyebrows in surprise, but as she angled her head to him, she changed her look of alarm and smiled at him, and let her head rest against his shoulder. "What a creep," he agreed with her, scanning over the image again.

"Warren Gilmore," the Warden read, "associate of criminal overlords, and former security operative for a facility in the Renigade constellation. Now he's a crazy nutshell since he left his old boss if you ask me," he added.

The guard and warden paused to swipe his keycard at a door labeled **_Cell A-3401_**

"Go on in," he said, "he's right inside. Let me know if he's too much for you."

Peter chuckled and nodded respectfully to the warden. "Gladly. Thanks for the tour pal."

The group stepped into the room, one by one. Rocket's perspective of the cell changed. The air temperature dropped, and the small strands of fur on his body began to feel tickled by the stream of cooler air moving through his nerves. Sam shifted uncomfortably and pressed herself closer to Rocket, yearning for his warmth again. Rocket partially took consideration in her movement, even as he focused on the cell's surroundings.

A cot covered with scrambled green sheets sat in one corner of the room, where a figure sat, gazing down at the ground. Next to the cot, Rocket noticed the steel sink and the toilet next to it, which seemed to be in desperate need of repair. Grime, dust, and paint peel threatened the condition of both appliances. In fact, Rocket realized the wall contained heavy dents, and so did the floor. They seemed so ugly looking, that it made him wonder if they were recently repaired from worsened conditions.

Just then, the man who sat on the cot's head twitched. He began to hum silently to himself as Rocket and his friends approached him, and started to calmly tap his fingers against his leg.

"Hey," Peter said, stopping within a few feet of Gilmore, looking unsure about getting closer.

Gilmore continued humming, and his fingers began to twitch at the sound of the new voice. His hair kept his face hidden, and beads of a liquid of some sort dripped from his long strands. "6, 4, 5, 22, 7, A1 Omega…" Gilmore began to murmur in between small, shallow, and almost ghostly breaths, "6, 4, 5, 22, 7, A1 Omega…

"Warren- Gilmore is it? We want to talk to you about your boss," Peter tried again, slowly talking as calmly as he could, putting a hand in the air.

He still ignored them, and his voice started to become louder. His breaths and his voice became more rapid and insane. "6, 4, 5, 22, 7, A1 Omega! 6, 4, 5, 22, 7…."

Peter sighed, rolling his eyes. "This guy's out of it," he stated, walking to the back of the cell with hands around his head.

"Listen smart guy," Rocket spat, fur bristling as he walked up to Warren, "I don't know who you think you are, but this idiot just asked you a question. We want to know about Astroliopa. And buddy, my patience runs on a very thin wire, and right now, you're starting to cut the red end of that wire. Speak up, or believe me, my patience won't have a wire soon."

He was aware of everyone's reaction, and that they were all watching him now, but didn't care. If good cop could only start the work, it was time for bad cop to finish it.

The humming and singing stopped. Every voice in the room had now gone silent. Warren lifted his head, revealing his eyes through the thick, long hair that ran down past his shoulders. His sinister smile became detectable as he looked not at Peter, but down at Rocket.

_Finally, _Rocket thought with relief, _someone who DOESN'T look familiar._

"You," Warren stretched, changing his smile to a grin, pointing a bony finger at Rocket. He laughed, then began to chuckle at the same time, which turned into hysterical and rocking laughter. "R- Rocket. He called you that didn't he?"

_But he knows who I am, _Rocket noted grimly. He pretended to not know what he was taking about and rose a crooked eyebrow. "Who? Who's he? Don't be playin' games with me, man! I don't have time for it!"

"And you're still the same as ever. A little cockier of course….. but the same Rocket," he giggled, exhaling coolly. He saw Sam out of the corner of his eye. It made Rocket very uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. Warren's eyes widened to ovals, to the point where his smile widened with them. "Ah… you have another. Unfortunate. You were very protective of your- previous one."

Rocket abruptly turned his look of content into a snarl and growled. "You don't know jack about me. I didn't have any 'other'. I don't know what you're tryin' ta' pull buddy, but you better pick your next words very carefully." He moved in front of Sam as if to deflect anything else he tried to say about her.

"Oh, but _she _knew you. How disappointed she would be if she were to see you with…. this one. So close you had once been. So sad it had to end this way," Warren shook his head, staring down at the ground again. "So sad, so sad, so-"

"Shut up," Rocket snapped, "just shut up! Who is her exactly? How do you even know me?"

Warren kept shaking his head. His fingers began to tremble and shake rapidly as if he were in seizure, and he began to giggle greatly, his eyes looking two separate directions at the same time. "You- you don't know?" He giggled even more, then drew a sharp, high pitched breath and exhaled shakily. One of his eyes looked at Rocket, while his second eye looked at the ground. His smile widened sinisterly. "H- Ha! It's worse than I thought. Th- the master, Astroliopa… yes, yes…. oh, there are so many things you don't know anymore." He giggled again, then crawled back fully onto his cot, and began to shake steadily back and forth in a ball, while continuing to cackle uncontrollably and quietly.

"So you do know him," Rocket concluded.

"6, 4, 5, 22, 7, A1 Omega…." He began to recite quietly again, rocking back and forth, letting his long hair hang over his eyes again. Warren acted as if the conversation between them had never happened.

"Focus, you wackjob!" The raccoon snarled, crawling up onto the bed next to him, his paws forming fists. "What do you know about Astroliopa?"

"6, 4, 5….." he paused, hearing Rocket, and this seemed to jolt him back into reality again. His eyes began to light up through his hair. "Wh- wha- what do you wish to know?" He giggled psychotically.

"For starters," Rocket began, "where is he? That guy outside mentioned the Renigade Constellation. Where _in _the constellation can I find him?"

"Light years away," he said, shivering, rocking back and forth again, staring at Rocket's little feet, then up to his face, "so many years…. so far away in the distance, yet so seemingly plain." Warren's eyes widened, and he began to shake his head suddenly, looking spooked about where he had been going. "But no…. I cannot reveal it. Th- the master would surely have me killed if I were to say it…."

"Your little boss is the least of your worries right now," Rocket claimed, glaring at him, "right now, you should be worrying about me. The planet, Warren. Where is it? A name, Warren. I want a name!" He shouted, starting to get frustrated.

"Rocket!" Sam stepped in, getting fed up with his overprotection of her, placing a hand on his shoulder. "don't you think this guy's not worth our time? He's crazy!" she whispered frantically into his ear, looking into his eyes. She turned him away from Warren with her paw so he looked in her direction. "We may as well get better information from a dog!"

Rocket shook his head, narrowing his eyes at her, a little disappointed that she doubted him. "Sam, the guy might be crazy, but we've gotta' try. I gotta' feelin' this guy knows somethin'," he whispered back.

As she attempted to protest, he turned back to Warren and bared his teeth. "The planet, Warren. I want the planet!" he demanded again.

Gamora, Drax, and Peter meanwhile, were unsure how to respond, and let Rocket do most of the talking with him.

"N- no!" Warren began to shake incredibly. His body trembled, and his eyes bulged with an unspoken fear that Rocket could not comprehend. "I- I can't! He's everywhere I tell you! Astroliopa!" He cried. He shoved himself away from the bed into a corner on the ground, and began to breathe heavily in and out, his hair finally moving out of the way to reveal a frightened and very distressed face.

The raccoon took a few steps forward towards him. "Who?!" He demanded, "I want to know who!" He shouted. "What do you mean?"

"He has eyes…. everywhere. They have watched me for years…. Astroliopa…. when he isn't pleased w- w- with his servants, he gets rid of them... but he still watches them," he whispered to Rocket outloud, his bottom lip trembling as he continued to breath continuously.

Rocket then realized what Warren was saying. The hammer dropped, and he understood the effect of its path. Someone was watching Warren. Or so the insane man thought.

"Rocket!" Peter finally spoke up, sounding incredibly annoyed, "he's crazy, he's not being watched! I told you, he's not worth-"

"Quill, SHUT UP!" Rocket yelled over his shoulder, even as he considered the possibility.

"We're wasting our time!" Gamora declared.

"I am Groot!" Groot yelled, possibly trying to side with Rocket.

Warren continued to shake. His entire body was in a state of pure shock and fright, unable to respond properly to the environment around him. "Astroliopa won't stop!" He began to sob loudly over the group, then looked over the group. "He will kill all of you, and will take your mammal friends, leaving you all for dead! If I- I- speak, my fate will be the same!" He shouted quickly.

"Warren!" Rocket spoke firmly, walking all the way up to him, standing on his tippy toes to grasp his bony shoulders. He looked up so he was eye to eye with the terrified man, and exhaled coolly to calm himself. "If you want me to help you make Astroliopa pay for what he's done to you…. tell me where he is, please," he spoke to him, "a planet, coordinates, anything!" His frustration began to show again, but Rocket struggled to stay calm. For his sake, and even Warren's at this point

The man closed his eyes, still shaking. With trembling hands, he brought them to his face, and wiped away tears that were in his eyes, and sniffed a bit. He looked down into Rocket's beady eyes, still frightened but nodded. "I- I- I- don't have much time to talk….. b- b- before he tries t- t- t- to end me, but I- I'll try to talk quickly." Warren looked around the room frantically, then gulped, struggling to slow his hyperventilating breathing. "Barraka…. It's on the edge of the constellation, B- B- a. But you need to hurry, Rocket…. there's something- the master does- doesn't want you to know."

He began to tremble again, breathing heavily as his frightened eyes scanned the room, looking at the walls and ceilings frantically. Rocket moved up to him, placing a paw on his arm. "What? What does he not want me to know?" he asked.

Warren's eyes met with his.

"He owns you."

Rocket almost thought he hadn't heard him right. Warren moved closer to Rocket's right ear, and whispered, "and he owns your female friend….. the chip controls all… remember…."

Suddenly, just as fast as he had gained his sanity back, Warren's eyes began to widen again into the shape of the terrified pupils they once were. He started to scan the room in a paranoid way, as if finding threats in every corner. "Oh no, no, no, no, no…." he whimpered, then began reciting the numbers again, "6, 4, 5, 22, 7, A1 Omega, 6, 4, 5, 22, 7…."

"Warren," Rocket firmly stated, "you're okay, focus! Warren, look at me. You're fine. Warren! Snap out of it!" He ordered, beginning to feel panicked.

Warren stood up from the corner, making Rocket start to walk backwards, as the man suddenly took a step forward. "He's going to find you, raccoon. Astroliopa won't stop-" he was cut off as a he was suddenly grabbed by two security guards who stepped into the room to halt his advance. "Rocket!" he shouted, "remember the numbers! The master will try to stop you! Do not listen to him! Do not forget, he will-"

As Rocket backed away, Warren began to shake again. His body went limp, the words became caught in his throat, and Warren's eyes rolled into the back of his head. The entire structure of the long haired man fell directly to the ground, and his body began to shake even more than before, causing a tremor to echo throughout the ground. He began to emit a horrible chocking sound as blood spurted up from his mouth in the form of a geyser, while the guards shouted for a medic.

"Warren!" Rocket shouted, trying to reach him. He suddenly felt he had to help him, but Peter had already grabbed him by the chest with one arm, and lifted him from the ground. Rocket squirmed around viciously, and baring his teeth, bit Peter on the hand, causing to terran to shout and drop him, allowing Rocket to crawl free. He raced over to the medics before Gamora or someone else could intercept him, and watched. "Talk to me chief, what's wrong with 'em?!" he demanded.

"Some sort of fluid!" the man on the right answered, struggling to hold him down while the others began to preform CPR. "But it ain't posion…. This was activated manually."

This was not the work of the guards. Someone had done this to him.

Only one person had seen them enter this room. Only one person could've known the perfect time to execute something like this.

Rocket knew then and there.

He raced out of the room, and looked to his left, to find it empty, then looked to his right, to find the cap of a security guard just turning the corner, and charged down the hall on all fours. This had to be him.

"Rocket!" Sam's shouts were closely behind him, but he wasn't stopping.

It had been the security guard….. but how? How did they manage to get someone inside the Nova Corp?

Rocket distinguished the thought and gritted his teeth, sprinting a sharp left just in time to see the security guard disappear up the stairwell, discharging several laser shots in Rocket's direction. As he crouched for cover, he could see on his right what had to be- but couldn't be- the security guard's body. _Holograms! _Rocket thought, _The guy took his body and killed him! _He turned around and sprinted up the stairs, then took a left into the hall which lead straight down the hall to the roof eventually.

He was not going to let this guy get away with this. Racing after him, the footsteps of other Guardians close behind Rocket, he ran. The security guard sprinted with a purpose, not even slowly down or looking back. This guy was clearly not intent on changing his form to be seen that easily. Rocket didn't bother to draw his weapon. He had to duck a few times to avoid laser bolts, which slowed him down, but kept advancing.

Finally, the door to the roof flew open, and Rocket stormed in directly behind him. After several twists and turns, the assassin was cornered at the edge of the roof. Below was the water's edge, and the assassin should've known this as well as Rocket did. Hundreds of feet below, death awaited, rolling in the deep, while a quick death also waited at the hands of Rocket's now drawn machine gun.

"Stop!" Rocket shouted, "give it up buddy! Your time's up!"

"You have nowhere to run!" Drax added boldly, running in next to Rocket. All 6 Guardians soon faced the security guard.

The security guard paused, rose his hands, but then turned to them and smiled smugly, aiming it at Rocket in particular, and winked.

Then, just as Rocket went to pull the trigger and fired, the man turned and did a complete front flip forwards. It was as if he'd never existed, and defied the laws of physics and gravity themselves. He lifted his feet off the roof to the height extent of what seemed impossible for a human male like him, and looked as if he were ready to fly as his arms extended themselves. Bullets whizzed by him as his figure began to flip forwards.

Just as he flipped, the man was suddenly no longer a human. The last thing Rocket saw as he ran forward, was the tail of a mammal, and the flash of a cloaked ship roaring by as the mammal disappeared inside.

Rocket stared in disbelief as the ship came by, just as fast as the security guard had changed to a human. His mind swirled with many thoughts at the moment. The guard's dead body in the stairwell. Warren's panicked expression. The flashback during the fight with Grimlock. The man in his flashback.

Deadshot's smile…. the security guard's smile.

_It couldn't be true. It's not him. _Rocket tried to make himself believe. It couldn't be him who had used the hologram of the guard.

Then again, it was a mammal. He knew Maverick's little smile, the way he smirked at him like that. The evidence was overwhelming. Maverick had to have been the one who killed Warren…. wasn't he?

The thought did led to another for Rocket, however. If Maverick had killed Warren…. that meant the fox was still alive.


	21. The Reveal

**A/N Not much to say. Early chapter. ;) Enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter 21: The Reveal**

* * *

As Rocket stared out to where the mysterious assassin disappeared, his eyes began to shrink to a smaller size. His tail began to swat the air, and his paws formed two tight fists.

"Rocket, he's gone," Sam assured him, trying to touch his shoulder.

This time, he recoiled at her touch and walked past Sam across the roof towards the door, still not changing his glower. "It's Maverick," he declared through seethed teeth, not bothering to explain to Peter or anyone else about his actions. His tail swatted the air as if attempting to smack a bee out of its flight.

At this point, his thoughts were along the line of, 'why bother.' Peter would just tell him what he should and shouldn't do and try to ask him questions, Gamora or Drax would probably do the same. His ideas didn't include telling Peter what was going on.

"Rocket, stop!" Peter called after him, jogging after Rocket, "just stop for a minute!"

The raccoon became aware of his approach and picked up pace towards the door, but Peter was quicker. His body blocked the handle completely as Rocket tried to reach for the handle.

"Get out of my way, Star-Dork," Rocket ordered, not caring at this point about his choice of words.

"No," Peter responded, shaking his head. For once, his face looked solemn. "Not until I get some answers. I've done enough of waiting for you to do something stupid like this again." He stood up and looked down at Rocket, frowning at him, his eyes glowering in disbelief.

Rocket's eyes lit up, and his fur bristled defensively like thorns on a bush. He stood limp, scoffed at the ground, showing a smile of disbelief, then barred his teeth in a show of resentment as he looked up at Peter. "You're funny," he sarcastically remarked, "Quill, I said move. Or else." He threatened.

"Buddy, drop that threat right now. That wasn't a joke," the terran stated, angling his head down, and moving his hands down towards the ground calmly.

"That wasn't a joke either," Rocket countered, "and I ain't jokin' when I tell you to move. So get out of my way." His voice became unnaturally cold, even if it was quiet. He began to tremble like Warren, and his eyes began to become aware of the Guardians behind him.

He felt threatened. Somehow, this people threatened him. They made him feel cornered. What was Quill thinking? He was trying to save them all, and here he was stopping him! Did he want them to fail? Did he want Astroliopa to win?

Sam walked behind him. "Rocket, calm down, just cool down for a second."

Rocket ignored her. She wasn't a part of this, and he didn't want her to be.

"Sam," Peter scolded, glancing to her out of the corner of his eyes, "I know you want to help him, but trust me when I say this, you want to stay back-"

"Don't you talk to her like that!" Rocket exclaimed loudly, glaring at Peter, "who do you think you are? Talking to her like she's your dog!" _He wants to steal her from you….. he wants to steal your Sam. From YOU. Do you really think he cares about your relationship with her? All he wants to do is talk about sex and make jokes about you two. He could care less what happens to her. _Rocket's mind began to take in this thoughts. His anger began to boil, and he started to lose control over himself.

"Rocket!" Gamora shouted, stepping forward towards him.

"And you!" Rocket whipped around, baring his teeth viciously and aiming his now drawn machine gun at Gamora. He walked away from the Guardians to the edge of the roof so he could see all of them easily. "Who do you think you are? Trying to make Sam hate me, talking to her behind my back! You probably are just like Quill. You want to ruin my life!" He shouted, glaring and huffing as he waved his gun around.

_They're all enemies…. All of them. All they want to do is ruin my life. All they want to do is get on my nerves. Call me names. Make fun of me. Talk behind my back probably. They don't care about me…. they want Astroliopa to win if anything. They want Sam to die. They want Maverick to kill us. Who's the say they aren't trying to help Astroliopa?_

"Groot," Rocket said, "open the door. You, me, and Sam are leaving."

Groot shook his head. "I am Groot" (No.)

Rocket hissed. "What did you just say you stupid piece of-"

"Rocket," Peter began, "just calm down. Tell us what's going on. We're going to fix this. Just put the gun down…"

"NO!" He exclaimed, pointing it at Gamora as she tried to move forward to him. "Do you idiots have any idea who that was? Maverick just got away! We need to-" he paused, some of his rage momentarily declining as he realized he was about to give himself away.

Peter took a step forward, raising an eyebrow. "We need to what? Rocket, talk to me." He gained a bit of courage when Rocket didn't try anything and took another baby step. The raccoon didn't respond, and his eyes were trained on the ground at Peter's feet, but his expression was still slightly angered. "Talk to me buddy. What do you mean? What do we need to do?"

"I can't!" Rocket cried, gritting his teeth as he waved his weapon again, looking up at Peter. His eyes drifted to Sam, who looked slightly horrified at his current state of mind, and hostility began to leave his eyes for a moment. He wanted to put his gun down, but he also wasn't ready to stop and explain himself yet. _I'm sorry girl…. _"I can't say it," he repeated, his voice cracking as he attempted to shout.

"Why?" Gamora demanded, glaring at him, directing a clear stream of hostility in his direction now.

"Rocket, we're a team. You're supposed to tell us these things," Peter countered in a calmer voice, angling his head lower.

"You worry us with your reckless actions," Drax adds cautiously, "you've been very… hostile lately. At certain times to be exact."

Rocket curled his lip. "There's no use tellin' any of you! All you want to do is do what you want! You don't care what I say… so I do it _my _way," Rocket explained harshly, "it's always, 'we should do what the team thinks!'" Rocket rose his voice overdramatically, then his expression turned to a glare, "'minus Rocket of course. His ideas don't matter. Oh, and even if he does tell us something important, we're going to forget everything else he says and just do what we want with it! Because Rocket is crazy anyway, we may as well just let his girlfriend get raped by a fox!"' His anger began to increase again as he ranted on.

"That is not true!" Peter exclaimed, "Rocket, we listen to all of your ideas! I don't know what's giving you that impression! You're just under a lot of stress-"

"Dang straight I am-" Rocket shouted.

"-and need to stop and think for a minute. You killed Maverick…. nothing's going to happen to Sam. She's okay. No one's trying to hurt her Rocket. I'm not, Gamora's not, Drax isn't, no one is or will!" he insisted.

"You don't know that," Rocket hissed under his breath, "you saw the tail Quill! It was Maverick, I know it was! I know that smile! That look on his face that I see every time I try to blink…"

"And you don't know that either. You don't know that it was Maverick. You said he was a fox? That was not a fox tail Rocket! I know what a fox tail looks like, and that wasn't him! You're seeing things," Peter declared.

"It has to be…" Rocket interjected, "it has to be him. If it ain't him, who is it then?"

Peter shook his head. "I don't know. But if you want to find out, you have to work with us. Rocket, tell us what's going on. Put the gun down… don't do something you're going to regret." He begged.

"I can't. You won't believe me…. you wouldn't understand….. you wouldn't care. None of you do. I may as well be a traitor now," Rocket laughed hysterically, his eyes narrowing greatly at Quill with a sinister smile. His hands began to shake.

"You know what, I don't care anymore. You want to know something? That time that robot grabbed me? I had flashbacks. I knew his name was Grimlock then. I knew he didn't mean to kill me. I knew his purpose was to not kill me when he realized I was what he was looking for. I knew that I knew who he was! I knew Grimlock wanted me!" He laughed again, looking around, "and you all thought I didn't know anything. Yeah, I know, I'm such a jerk for not telling you, right? But you wanna' know the best part about the flashbacks?"

A tear appeared in Rocket's left eye, still waving his gun around. "I remember what it was like. Getting torn apart. Limb from limb. What I remembered from before? Ha, that is nothing compared to what I remember now! I watched this old guy above me, ranting to me about how I'm 'the perfect subject', feeding me crap about how 'I will be the best'. 'New and improved' he said Well guess what? He's wrong it looks like. Because Rocket Raccoon is NOTHING!" he laughed, "and Grimlock… oh, he knows it too! Because guess what? He was standing at the foot of my surgical table, WATCHING ME GET TORN TO KINGDOM COME! TAUNTING ME!" He shouted at everyone who stood. "And that isn't even the tip of the iceberg," he laughed, "I RECONGIZE, Grimlock. I RECONGIZE, that old man I saw. I recognize everything. I saw the labs I was being kept in. And during the fight with Maverick? I remembered how to do freaking karate, when I never knew how to do it before! Then I forgot….. just like that. Oh, and I can't forget the best part: apparently I have an imaginary girlfriend from some year in my past that I don't even know about! To top it all off, I just discovered that I'm apart of some freaking program that 'the master', Astrolipa- whatever his name is, runs, and that this guy OWNS ME! My entire life is OWNED, by him! I am owned by some old guy, his pet machine, and whatever army he has!" Rocket finished shouting. "I am a friggin' cyborg, because of him!"

All of the Guardians were silent at this point. Even the sharp tongued Gamora looked stunned at Rocket's outburst. Peter's stern expression was met with a slightly ajar mouth open. The terran was also stunned, and left wordless. Groot and Drax were left to stare at him, unsure how to respond to this.

Rocket panted heavily, glancing at each of them, the anger inside him boiling at its peak. He laughed one last bit before he was unable to, and added with a wheeze, "and you ask me, Mr. Peter Quill, 'why didn't you tell us?' Are you happy now? Are you happy that I finally decided to tell you how this ruined my entire life?!"

Time passed. Peter couldn't even bring himself to avert his eyes or change his expression. Minutes passed. No one could speak. The dead silence plagued the roof. It was surprising the guards hadn't even shown up yet to investigate what was happening.

Rocket's paranoia level decreased gradually as he looked from Peter to Groot, then to Gamora, Drax… and then Sam. The look in her eyes told him everything. It was foreign… a strange glance in time that made him look like someone she'd never seen before. She stared at him, looking concerned, frightened. When he meet her eyes, the fire in his own began to disappear as her gaze turned to a new emotion: Sadness. She was pleading for him to stop.

He recognized the emotion. Lowering his gun, Rocket's eyes widened with horror as he realized what he'd just said to everyone. His anger fully left him, leaving room for only emotions he'd never actually fully felt before.

Rocket Raccoon lowered his gun. He trembled forward with shaky legs. Sam already began to walk towards him, making his eyes start to water.

He collapsed onto his knees right into her embrace, and his eyes began to water even more as he struggled to hold in what had to have been tears. "I'm sorry," he whimpered, dropping his weapon. His shoulders began to shake as he silently cried, allowing his emotions to finally show as Sam held him. "I'm sorry…." He whispered again, a little louder this time, and began to repeat it, hugging Sam tightly. He would feel the hands of Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Peter all around him as they sat by him, comforting him, and whispering words of encouragement to him.

Rocket couldn't believe how much of a burden it'd lifted from his shoulders just by telling them everything. He felt so vulnerable to them….Yet he had such a positive feeling. All of this built up anger, all of this resentment he let himself have for them, and the things he kept from them. That was what had caused this.

For once, teamwork had not been a bad choice. They did care. Rocket understood that now.

Peter smiled softly, and patted Rocket's shoulder as he felt him tremble and cry silently. "Let it out pal, it's okay. Everything's going to be alright."

Somehow, he knew that was true. Starting now, Rocket knew he didn't have to do this on his own anymore. The Guardians were on his side.


	22. It's a Good Life

**Chapter 22: Its a Good Life**

* * *

Rocket explained everything to his team, leaving out the part about the 'imaginary girlfriend' on purpose. He didn't feel ready to reveal that to everyone yet, and it wasn't vital to the situation anyway. He told what he knew about Grimlock. He explained what he saw in his flashbacks as best as he could, in as much detail and possible, and included details of what Warren had told him privately. It was difficult telling what it was like, being torn apart and rebuilt, the pain he experienced.

He also told them a name he remembered during one of the flashbacks: Wal Rus. Although he was not sure who that was, he sounded so familiar…. yet so distant and faded. The memory of this person seemed obvious, so legitimately clear, and the raccoon was unable to remember who he was still. It main him annoyed and irate to think that it sounded obvious although he couldn't recollect why.

He finished expounding to the group what he had seen and heard, calmly making sure he kept a cool head during the conversation.

"And you think all of that is on the planet Warren mentioned?" Gamora asked him once he was finished.

Rocket shuffled in his seat and nodded to her, blinking his eyes uncertainly. "That's all I know. I don't know if it's on that planet, but it's a safe bet in my opinion."

"If the mechanic adversary of ours is on Barraka, it is likely we may find this strange man that obsess over Peter Quill and Rocket," Drax remarked.

"Based off of what?" Gamora replied, unimpressed with Drax's prediction, lazily blinking and looking to him across the table. "Simple tricks of the mind that may not be reliable? I'd hardly call that much to go on."

"So he's wrong, is that what you're suggesting?" Sam jumped to his defense immediately. She'd been sitting next to Rocket since the incident, not leaving his side, and keeping her fur almost touching his. Comfort was something she knew he was in desperate need of

Gamora narrowed her eyebrows slightly and glanced to Sam. "I did not say that. I am saying that we'd be taking advice from something as implausible as a hallucination. If we arrive on Barraka and find nothing then-"

"But what choice do we really have Gamora?" Peter interjected, "if we can't go on this, then we have nothing. All we know is Barraka. Either way, all we have is the planet Warren gave us. I can contact Tivan as we go to the planet to learn some stuff… if it's even an actual place, but that's about all I can think of right now."

"Plus," Rocket spoke up, "do you really think I 'saw' those things for no reason? I'm not stupid, and I'm not crazy…. OCD maybe, with a touch of ADHD, but nothing else."

Everyone stared at him as he mentioned the two disorders. Rocket cocked his head and shrugging his shoulders, his fur prickling in annoyance. "What?" he asked, "my therapist told me I had them."

"I am Groot?" (You have a therapist?) The tree questionably spoke up.

"You know I have a therapist, stupid!" Rocket exclaimed, palming his face with his paw and gritting his teeth together.

"That's beside the point," Gamora pressed without looking at Rocket. "But yes, Peter, your argument proves many unsaid facts."

Peter smiled at her sentence. "Thank you. Any other objections?"

No one said a word.

"Well then, I think it's decided. We get to Barraka, possibly find this Astroliopa guy and his buddies, and figure out what's going on here, get the orb, and get out. I'd say that's 100 percent of a plan, wouldn't you say?"

Rocket scoffed, allowing his tail to flicker out carelessly. "More like 11 percent of a plan, in all honestly."

"Sides like a little bit of a one-sided plan," Sam agreed.

"We do tend to dive headfirst into situations like this," Drax quietly pointed out.

Tilting her head, Gamora sighed. "I'm surrounded by friends, but also a horde of idiots."

"Glad to hear we're so positive about this people," Peter grimly says unenthusiastically.

"How about this," Sam spoke up, "we go to Barraka… and see what we find?"

Gamora smiled at her suggestion, and so did Rocket. "That sounds more like the 100 percent plan we can count on," Gamora said, glancing to Quill, raising her eyebrows as if purposely trying to annoy him, "don't you think so Quill?"

Peter sighed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever."

"Dang straight that's 100 percent," Rocket agreed, staring at the female raccoon admiringly. "Hey Sam… want to make Quill uncomfortable?" Rocket suggestively said to her.

Sam beamed back at him. "I'm listening," she said, leaning closer to him, seductively allowing her tail to sweep his fur occasionally.

"Ugh, get a room!" Peter ordered, scrunching up his face as they were inches from each other's lips.

"We're already in one," Sam countered, touching noses with Rocket.

Rocket grinned. "That was next on the agenda anyway." His throat rumbled silently at the affectionate rubbing of Sam's snout against his, and he brushed his lips across hers. Sam closed her eyes.

"Or just sit here and break it up!" Peter clenched his face with one hand.

Sam giggled and removed herself from Rocket's personal space- much to his frown of discouragement. "What's the matter? Can't handle a little love?"

The terran shivered, looking a bit disturbed by her suggestion. "No…. it's just- weird. Two raccoons kissing. It. Is. Just. Weird."

"Well guess what? You're going to deal with it all the way until you're diggin' my grave," Rocket smirked.

"Now you guys are just tormenting me."

"That's our job," Rocket confirmed.

Peter ignored him. He sat up from the table and walked to the ship's main seat and strapped himself to the chair, and began narrowing down the location to the planet. "Renigade Constellation... Quadrant 3…. Barraka!" he announced, "looks like that's where were heading. Take a seat folks. It should be another day or two before we get close enough to the planet at this rate."

* * *

Within a few hours, Rocket found himself in his room, staring at the slip of paper Tivan had given them occasionally, desperately trying to make sense of it. Even as he took apart his machine gun and put it together for the third time, he found it was futile to try and prevent his eyes from glancing every now and again at the paper.

**_L7114_**

_What does it mean? He never told us…. Tivan never told us, _Rocket reminded himself darkly. He didn't like the idea that Tivan was withholding information that might just save their butts, and that Peter was letting him get away with it. Scratch the 'billions of lives' Peter had been ranting about, they didn't matter to him. Sam, Groot, Peter, Gamora, and Drax were all that mattered to him.

Sure, Tivan had given them a slip of paper and told them to go to Warren- who died, but it was not doubtful that Tivan knew more. Maybe Astroliopa hadn't told him what it was for, but Rocket felt uncertain that wasn't completely the truth.

_He's crazy, _Rocket decided, even though he'd come to that conclusion about Tivan a long time ago.

Focusing more on his work, he slipping the firing pin in between the two hinges in the barrel of his weapon, letting the hammer that ejected the bullet rest freely towards the back. He slid the barrel into place and quickly put the screws back into the stock of the weapon and pushed it back into place with his paw. It clicked smoothly as he shuffled to the front of his weapon. Eyes scanning the weapon parts on the table, he rapidly snatched the muzzle up and screwed it into the inner core of the round chamber. In another second, he clipped the handle and grip back into place with his small hands and a few screws, and finished off the weapon with a few minor adjustments to the top of his gun.

Readying it, he turned to Sam, keeping the barrel pointed at the ground. She was smiling as she stopped the cyber timer. "33 seconds. You beat your last time by 2 seconds," she informed him, shaking her head. "Jeez, you're fast. I don't think I've ever seen anyone put a machine gun together that fast. How do you do that?"

Rocket scoffed somewhat arrogantly and shrugged. "I look at the pieces, and put them together," he responded bluntly, "it's not that tough really. I guess I'm used to it, seeing as how everyone likes to think I have a 'crazy' thought process."

"And you say you have ADHD," Sam sardonically mentioned, angling an eyebrow in his direction.

"I didn't say that," Rocket countered defensively, frowning, "I said my _therapist _told me that. It's not the same as me saying it."

Sam shuffled her neck a bit and exhaled as she stretched, bringing up her arms and extending her slender form up as far as she could go. "Oh really? And I'm guessing said therapist knows you're a hothead too."

"Awe, putting it that way makes me feel bad," Rocket commented, smirking.

"Now you're a softy."

"I am not. The day I become a softy is the day you see me 6 feet under. Which is never."

"Yeah, but you did cry."

"I did not!" Rocket protested, glaring at her.

"You did too."

"I did not!"

The female counterpart of his sighed and tossed up her arms. "What other things glisten that fall from your eyes?"

"Water droplets, when your eyes get irritated!"

"Your eyes were not irritated!"

"Maybe they were at the time! How do you know, Miss Einstein?!"

Sam smiled, narrowing her eyes at him still.

The raccoon shivered. "W- what? Okay, now you're just creeping me out!"

"You cried."

"I did not!" Rocket argued, raising his voice a bit more than he meant to. He cut off the words as she held her narrowed eyes, and sighed, grumbling to himself as he sat down again, crossing his arms like a pouty child.

It was difficult for him to admit what he'd experienced back there. The only time he could remember coming close to crying was when Groot was going to sacrifice himself, and after he was 'dead.' Even that wasn't as bad as this time. He had full blown cried, something Rocket was completely against doing. Usually it was people he saved who cried, not him. He was supposed to be the tough one, not the one who showed weakness. Crying made him appear weak, and that was not acceptable for him.

Sam shuffled next to him. "Come on, Chuckles. It's not that hard a thing to admit. It's normal. Everyone cries. You're no different, and that's not bad. You can't be the hero or the guy with the buff chest all of the time."

"You don't get it," Rocket insisted, "I do. For my entire life- the part of my life that I can remember, I've had to be my own adult and be the one to stay calm. I've had to stick up for people left and right… I've been through stuff, but never cried during the tough patch. Now look at me. I'm- I'm not the same anymore."

"And that's bad?" Sam placed her head against his shoulder, and snuggled against his fur. "Maybe it's a good thing. Change isn't always bad you know."

Rocket quivered anxiously at her presence, but this time, he knew to keep his reflex off, and moved his arm around her upper back. Keeping her close to him, he rubbed her back, feeling her emit the sound of a purr. She blinked twice, and angled her head so it faced his. Rocket smiled lightly. "You sound like a motor," he said.

"Wow, some way to make this romantic," Sam chuckled, pressing her forehead to his, then letting him kiss her back tenderly.

"I'm a little rusty on my flirt talk. Don't hate on me," Rocket said with a grin, brushing his lips across hers softly.

After they kissed again, Sam sat down again with him for a few seconds. She looked to Rocket again a moment later.

"I have a serious question for you Rocket."

"I'm guessing it's a joke?" Rocket responded bluntly.

"Well, I am pretty Punny…." She grinned.

Rocket sighed and shook his head, still keeping an arm around her. "Ha, ha, alright, go ahead. Try me."

Sam sat up straight, looking excited when it let her go on. "Alright, say you're on of the last people on Earth with Peter, Drax, and Groot. Who do you kill, who do you marry, and who do you bang?"

The raccoon thought a moment, before returning with an answer. "Marry Groot, kill Drax, and bang Quill."

Sam smirked at his answer. "Thought you would've switched Groot and Quill around those two positions."

"Sam, if Quill and I were the last two people on Earth, I would shoot myself if I had a choice to marry him or die," Rocket declared. "Besides…. It sounds weird saying that I'm banging a tree."

"Fair enough." Sam shrugged her shoulders.

"New question: What if I replaced Drax in that scenario?" Rocket asked her.

She quietly shifted her tail, then spoke up. "Marry Groot, kill Quill…. and bang you."

Rocket grinned. "Really?"

"Yep. Quill's the one who has the most meat on him…. plus I really don't like him at all. Groot's nice, I wouldn't have a problem marrying him. And you…." Sam smiled as her eyes drifted to the side of her head, and she blushed. "Well, I think it's obvious why I picked the last one for you."

"Because I would be a lot more fun," Rocket answered with his devilish grin, rubbing all along the fur on her back smoothly. He held Sam closer to his side.

"Hence the reason why I call you a creep," Sam purred, leaning up and pecking his lips delicately, smiling back at him with a glint in her eyes.

Rocket's expression changed a few seconds later when he realized what he wanted to say. "Hey Sam, I got one. What did Terra- or Earth, say to the other planets in its solar system?"

Clearing her throat and thinking for a few moments, Sam shook her head, squinting her eyes, then blinked. "Not sure. What did Terra say?"

"You guys have no life!"

Both raccoon chuckled a few seconds later, and Sam even smiled, getting the joke all too well. "Literally. Terra's the only one in their solar system that has 'life' on it!" she laughed. "Okay, that was pretty good, I'll give it to you."

"Got one for me?" Rocket asked.

"What do you call a one-eyed deer?" Sam probed after a few seconds of thought.

Rocket stopped and paused in thought…. Then his face brightened up. "No-i-deer."

Sam nodded and smiled. "How did you know that one?"

"I just did," he responded in a matter of fact sort of manner. When he was about to talk, he began to yawn, and took a look at the universal clock they went by on the Milano.

"It's looking pretty late, Chuckles. You might wanna' get some rest," Sam pointed out, noticing the clock like he did.

He grumbled at her mention of it being late. He wasn't one for liking to go to sleep before midnight, but he had to admit, being up for more than two days did tend to have a pretty powerful effect on you when sleep became a subject.

"I am pretty tired," Rocket mumbled, placing his gun under the bed as he sat down. He sighed, and nodded. "I guess I'll turn in."

While he undressed and changed into more comfortable clothes, Sam sat at the same table, examining her own rifle. "Do you think we're really going to find what we're looking for on Barraka?" Sam questioned out loud, squinting one eye closed as she checked the scope of her sniper.

Pausing abruptly as he finished, Rocket moved underneath the covers of his bed and sighed. "To be honest, I have no idea. Hopefully we'll find something. I know we'll find something. We have to." He stated firmly.

A few minutes later, he found Sam joining him in that same bed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she slide next to him, and moved her face so it was aligned with his. She leaned up and kissed his lips, making Rocket kiss her back. He didn't want to sleep for that time. He could've stayed like that forever, just kissing Sam, giving her love. It was an odd feeling for him, but it felt good.

As she kissed him, she trailed one on his bare shoulder, than to his chest, and laid her head on his stomach, and closed her eyes. Smiling, Rocket moved his paw down her spine, and rubbed his fingers throughout her fur, making Sam vocalize pleasurably in the form of a rumble that came out through her throat. He repeated the motion, occasionally making Sam twitch in her half asleep state. "I think someone's awake…" Rocket teased, blowing lightly onto one of her ears.

Sam's head moved up to meet his eyes, and she purred in amusement. "Well, you caught me. I was just thinking of another joke, thought you might like it."

Rocket's ears prickled with curiosity. "Oh really? At his hour of the night? Go ahead, I'm all ears sweetheart."

"What comes after 69?"

Rocket smiled, but it widened as he realized what it really meant. "Mouthwash." He smirked. "Dirty puns. Can't beat 'em. I don't suppose that's the move you plan to pull on me tonight?"

Her face scrunched up in mild disgust. "And soil the bed? Rocket, I don't move that fast." She then smiled mysteriously. "But it'll be considered," she purred seductively, moving up to kiss him on the mouth again.

He grunted in between the kiss suddenly and his face turned sour for a split second. "Easy on the sensitive area sweetheart! That's a restricted area for another time!" he protested, but not really in a serious manner.

"You're no fun," Sam pouted, still purring as she nuzzled into his chest.

"Than be a good girl," Rocket replied bluntly.

"What if I'm _bad?" _Sam giggled.

Rocket snorted, breaking his frown with a small smile. "You're always bad. The good kind of bad." He bent his head lower and kissed her lips. "'Night sweetheart," he added at the end in a playful manner. "I'll always love my bad girl."

"Goodnight Chuckles," Sam retorted, smiling as she closed her eyes, "love you too."

Rocket looked over to turn off the light, and nodded to a certain tree in the root littered corner. "Night pal."

A small root-like hand gave a thumbs up from Groot's massive hibernating form. "I am Groot…."

And the lights were distinguished, as Rocket came to think, _I really do love Sam._


	23. Memories

**Chapter 23: Memories**

* * *

Rocket awoke in the middle of the night next to Sam. He looked around the room, and frowned when he realized how much darker it looked, but shrugged it off and yawned, stretching his arms and legs. Surprisingly, he felt very awake, for only getting up… but his mouth felt like dry sandpaper. Water couldn't be delayed anymore.

He sat up in his bed and brushed the side of Sam's face with his paw affectionately, before sitting up and hopping off the bed. Rocket shivered almost immediately as his feet touched the ground, and frowned even deeper. "Jeez, Quill… would it kill you to turn on the heat in here? " He grumbled, grabbing a pair of long sleeve and black and white checkered sweatpants, and put them on to cover his boxers. After putting his boots on, he walked outside the room, and closed the door behind him.

The temperature dropped incredibly.

As if his long sleeved clothing were no longer than to cover him, the temperature just….. dropped. It seemed as if he'd just entered an entire foreign environment. Growling, Rocket felt as if he knew who to blame for this. _Quill….. when I get up there, I am going to kill you. People are trying to sleep you know._

He took another step, and breathed…. and saw a cloud of his own breath drift into the air. _Okay… this is too far! _Rocket declared in his mind. He took another step, and his teeth began to chatter. Walking forward, he kept his arms crossed, and his hands tucked under his armpits in attempt for warmth.

It sounded eerily quiet on the ship. There was no sound of the generators running to keep the ship going. No sound of the life support across the hall from him. There were no sounds of a single soul in the ship.

Rocket took another step, passing by the steel halls. He walked by several containment cells.

Taking another step forward, Rocket went by several large windows to his right. Beyond them, machines stirred inside. Hundreds of steel soldiers, with the same identical features. Red eyes….. exactly 6'5 in height. Metallic teeth formed in a permanent snarl. Cyborgs. They appeared to stir, but really, they were deadly still.

The fur on his neck prickled suddenly, as Rocket stared at the ground. He blinked, widened his eyes, then shook his head, and paused immediately in his footsteps.

_What the…. _Rocket inspected the ground again. He was sure that the ground had been a clear steel color before now. He knew what the Milano's floor looked like, he'd been here for at least a year now.

He knew the floor was _not_ shiny black that much he knew. He stared at his own reflection, where he realized something else was also incredibly wrong. Rocket's head shot up. His eyes became ovals as he looked down the hall. He quickly squinted them in confusion when he noticed the doors on his sides were not the normal doors that made up the living quarters. They had a clear glass panel at the top of each door. Even if they were all steel like normal, he knew for a fact that living quarters did _not _have glass panels. Those were for containment doors.

_This has to be a joke…. _Rocket convinced himself, he took as step back from the unfamiliar territory, and began to walk backwards, filling a large chill run up his back. _Quill's messin' with me…. he has to be. _He wanted to think.

When he attempted to walk backwards, he misplaced a foot and tripped over his other leg. Rocket yelped, catching himself with both of his hands, tightening his eyes closed for the worst. As he slowly stood up, that's when his heart skipped a beat. He found himself staring face to face with the hundreds of cyborgs that were behind the enormous windows. Cringing his face with confusion and mixed emotions of anxiety, Rocket took another step back, then back in the direction of Sam's room. Whatever was going on- joke or not, he had to get her out of here.

As he ran, he felt the hallway growing longer, and realized that this hallway- the one that once looked like the Milano's hallway, was now the same as the one behind him.

Rocket panicked as he sprinted to a halt at the room he thought was Sam's. Sliding his feet to a forced stop, he tried pressing the open button on the controls. The door did not open. Instead, he received the red message, saying the deadly message '_ACCESS DENIED! KEYCARD ACCESS REQUIRED!' _Rocket shouted a curse, his eyes growing wild, and he slammed his paw into the screen. _A keycard?! THERE NEVER WAS A DANG KEYCARD! _Rocket's mind screamed. He noticed the slot, and his mind struggled to think of a way to get in.

Before he could even react however, the loud impact of what sounded like a person's body sounded from behind the doorway, making Rocket jump back against the wall.

Behind the glass panel, the face of a bald man wearing an orange jumpsuit appeared in the doorway, his eyes wide with anger, and his teeth gritted together resentfully. He looked to be terran.

"You!" he bellowed deeply, smashing his fist against the panel, "let me out! Dang raccoon! You and that little robot dog of yours, and your master! You can all rot in the underworld!" He continued to howl and rant.

Rocket's expression turned to anger from terror as he quickly remembered Sam. "What did you do with her you freak?!" He shouted at the man behind the door. "Where is she?!" he demanded, glaring at him, huffing angrily. "LET HER GO!" He continued loudly.

The bald man still continued to hit the panel, with little success of breaking it, continuing to bellow threats that had yet to be carried out. He clearly had no idea what the raccoon was talking about.

Shaking his head, Rocket put his hands to his face, beginning to panic. _Where is she… where is she!? _He tried to think. He began to check all of the cells in every direction, frantically pacing back and forth, only to receive the same angered faces of different species and individuals. He recognized none of them, and could not see Sam in any of them.

"Rocket!" A voice down the hall called, in the direction Rocket had originally began to walk down. His ears rose at the sound of the voice, and he only processed one person who could be calling his name at a time like this.

Rushing down the hall on all fours, Rocket bounded quickly by the cells around him. He felt the wind rushing by him, the cold no longer a problem, and kept his eyes clenched open through narrowed slits. "I'm coming, hold on Sam!" he yelled, sprinting even faster, not letting his heart keep up with him.

The voice got louder. "Leave Rocket out of this!"

His eyes blinked as he neared the intersection in the hall. The setting around him crumbled almost instantly.

Rocket still felt cold. The halls were the same, but it was not as quiet as before. In fact, he wasn't in a hallway.

The setting was difficult to describe for Rocket. They seemed to be in a tunnel system or cave of sort, judging from the rocks around them that littered all corners of the cave. Around him, figures suddenly began to run by him, making Rocket cringe in surprise. They went by as if they never noticed him.

Robots. Several humanoids, some actual humans, and others that looked like the cyborgs he'd seen behind the windows he'd run by before. They splashed through the water that went up to their ankles, rushing by, armed with a variety of laser and projectile weapons that not even Rocket could describe at the time. The humans wore white or grey metal armor of some sort- combat gear perhaps, military garb, Rocket guessed.

"H- hey!" Rocket shouted after them, beginning to wade through the water after them.

They never slowed down or stopped.

As they approached a nearby cave entrance, he could hear shouting up ahead, followed by an exchange of laser shots. After a moment, Rocket found himself watching as a black figure like himself emerged from the cave, and tripped into the ankle deep water.

It wore a jumpsuit just like him. The orange and black suit looked just like his, the vest, the detail… something about this looked so familiar. The creature was a raccoon, just like Rocket. The only difference was that this raccoon was in fact not Sam. It looked just liked Rocket- but _he _wasn't. He had fur which prickled like needles around the area that wasn't already drenched with water. He had the same eyes as Rocket, the same face almost, but he appeared an inch taller, and his fur was longer than Rocket's.

He spat out water and sat up with his laser weapon, only to be punched by a guard before he could successfully ready it on him, and was sent sprawling back to the ground onto his side.

Rocket wanted to rush in and help the strange raccoon, but as much as he wanted to, he wasn't prepared to test whether these guard would shoot him or not. Besides, Rocket was ready to find an answer to what the heck was going on right now. Instead, he crouched down next to a boulder, and began to wade and inch closer to them along the side of the boulder calmly.

The strange male raccoon snarled defensively at the militaristic looking humans and cyborgs who forced him to his feet, and placed his hands behind his back. "Let me go ya nasty buggas'!" His strangely accented voice shouted, as he snarled and struggled, snapping at the humans with his teeth. He turned his head towards a new figure that had emerged from the cave entrance he'd tried to escape from.

The figure looked about 6 foot, and wore a cloak around himself to possibly conceal his identity. He had black gloves, and Rocket couldn't see as much other detail, seeing as how his face was not in his line of sight.

"You an' the shrinks are goin' to get what's coming to ya!" The raccoon shouted, glaring at the odd man. "Rocket's going to make sure of that, believe me! You better leave him out of this if you know what's good for ya!"

Just then, Rocket found a connection in the male's voice: It had been the voice that had been calling his name before. He still couldn't contemplate at this point why the setting had changed just like that, and how he was still able to hear the raccoon.

The man stood where he was in place, as if he were a sentry watching over his post. He strode over to the restrained raccoon, seemingly triumphant in witnessing his capture. "It's a shame, Ranger." His firm voice spoke. "A very excellent asset you would've been, if not for you assisting your brother vacating the premises without my orders."

"An asset?!" he cried in outrage, "that's bollocks, and you know it! You would've had me fight against Rocket, and for what? So you could use me again? So you can experiment on Rocket, make him 'the best subject' again?" He shook his head. "I won't let you do that," he growled, "you aren't going to touch my little brother ever again. The loonies ah' goin' to find out what you been doin' to 'em! Believe me, I won't be the last rebel!" Ranger snarled.

Rocket's eyes widened. _Little what?! Who is this guy? I don't even know him, how is he my- brother?! _He didn't know whether to be happy, or whether to think this was a complete dream or hallucination, or whatever this was that was happening.

Chuckling, the man only shook his head calmly in return, and lowered his head so he looked at the water. "Ranger…. Ranger…. Calm yourself, please. You misunderstand the significance of my project. What happened to Rocket was entirely unintentional. My intentions were never to harm him… I hope you can see this."

Prior to his explanation, Ranger had already began to show clear disbelief in his eyes. "You are a liar," he murmured viciously, than began to raise his voice gradually, "you are a no good bloody liar! When did you really plan to tell us that you picked us out of our parents' litter, one by one, and turned us into what we are now? When did you plan to tell us why Rocket is not even fully raccoon? That you took his memories about the surgeries from him? Did you even stop to think for a moment about what _we _actually wanted? Taking our memories from us, our family, manipulating us to be guards for _Halfworld's good_\- oh wait, I mean, guards for _your good._ What do you think we are? I'll bet what happened to the loonies was unintentional too… and your idea of making us brainwashed guards… and Halfworld's bloody existence! Or did I miss something?" He challenged.

"Enough, Ranger!" The man calmly ordered , raising his voice slightly. Even with his odd and calm voice, Rocket could hear the anger in his voice too. "You are under solitary confinement for life, for the offenses of treason, aiding a traitor, putting the entire planet of Halfworld and its citizens at risk, several intentional murders of security guards, and countless other offenses. I am sorry Ranger, but what you have done cannot go unpunished. It's as I said at the very beginning: Disobedience leads to consequence." He pointed to Ranger. "And you have disobeyed."

If he were to continue, it would be unheard, as the man had turned away to face the guards. "Take him away! Place Rocket's mate in confinement as well! She does not leave this planet or that room under any circumstance," he ordered.

Several guards began to take Ranger away, while the remainder, including a cyborg remained with the odd man. "**Sir**," the cyborg droned, "**what shall we do about contact with the girl's father? He is likely to try and seek her out with the help of her Uncle."**

_My mate?... he's not talking about Sam. It's got to be that girl who's name starts with an L. It has to be, _Rocket pondered in his head.

"Tell them we do not have her. If they continue to be a nuisance, I will discuss the facts with them personally," he replied. As if a light bulb had appeared, he slowly turned around to face the cyborg that began to walk away. Rocket found several features of his face to be strikingly familiar at the new angle he had of the man's face. His goatee, the brownish orange eyes, the soft smile on his face.

The facts overwhelmed the information Rocket had already taken in from the conversation between the other raccoon. The flashbacks lay in his long term memory plan as day. He knew who this man was.

_Astroliopa. _The eyes, the soft smile, and the beard around his chin shot the name into Rocket's head. Anyone could see it was him if they remembered him as long as Rocket had.

"Actually," Astroliopa said, smiling in that delicate yet cunning way he always did, "on second thought…. move the toymaker's daughter out of imprisonment… I have new plans for her, but have Grimlock restrain her until further orders are given. The procedure for her will begin shortly."

_What did they do to her? _Rocket squinted his eyes thoughtfully.

**"****Yes sir." **The cyborg dipped his head, then walked by where Rocket was. The raccoon flinched, waiting to be discovered, but oddly enough, the cyborg looked directly at Rocket's position, and walked right by him, almost brushing his fur as he past him.

As the cyborg passed, Rocket no longer saw the cave they had originally been in. Looking around, he noticed he was now inside a fairly small room, constructed in a blueish steel color. The floors, ceiling, and walls all looked to be this odd color. In the center of the room, Ranger was bound to the middle of the wall by his hands and his feet. Although he was confined by restraints that were drilled into the wall, he wasn't exactly hanging, since two small leg rests helped allow his feet to stay down without being dragged forcefully towards the ground. The only downside was that his legs and arms were perfectly immobilized to the wall.

Ranger truly was in 'solitary confinement.'

The room was completely empty, except for the long translucent panel of glass that divided the half of the room from the main entrance- which from the looks of it was keycard and DNA activated.

Standing next to Rocket- again, completely oblivious to Rocket's presence as if he were a ghost, was an un-cloaked Astroliopa, staring up at the raccoon bound to the wall.

"Enjoying your new living conditions?" Astroliopa said with a smile.

_This must be after this guy was captured…. _Rocket thought to himself. He began to connect the dots even further. Why the people couldn't hear him. Couldn't see him. Acted like he did not exist. Why he felt like he was actually here... why things kept changing so fast.

This wasn't just a dream he was in. It was a memory of some sort. But it wasn't his memory. Rocket did not know how to explain it, but somehow it made sense. He wasn't sure how he would get a memory he didn't have, but he felt certain this was adding up. This was not a regular dream for sure. There was a purpose behind this. Someone or something had made him have this dream about the past when he wasn't even there. The thought sounded scary, and sent chills up his spine just thinking about it.

Ranger scoffed, staring down at the ground. His fur had long sense dried from the water, and looked like the normal needle-like fur Rocket had seen on him before. Still its normal length. He no longer wore his vest that was similar to Rocket's, but instead wore an orange jumpsuit, similar to the ones that the men in the cells had worn, as Rocket had previously seen before. "Oi, they're just amazin', boss. You know what'd make this more amazin'?" He grinned "If I got to blast a few holes through ya stinkin' chest."

"Then again," Astroliopa spoke up, his smile turning smug, "you cannot exactly end my life with a few mere laser beams, can you?"

"Maybe not," the raccoon admitted, "but at least it'd give me some good ol' target practice."

Sighing, Astroliopa shook his head, letting his smile disappear a bit. "You know, Ranger, I like you. I aint' gonna' add an 'E.D' to like because I still do like you. In fact, I love you both. Just as much as I love all the children I have." He paused, then chuckled, and let off a small laugh, renewing his smile briefly. "And believe me, I have more than one species of children let's just say. But that's not the point."

He sat down at the chair that was across from Ranger and sat down, and crossed his fingers of both hands together in his lap, and placed his head on both hands. "The problem then becomes, Ranger…. I have people to protect that live and breathe on Halfworld every day. Thousands of people who live on this facility I have established on this planet make a living. Good people…. Maybe a few rotten eggs out of the carton, but, eh, you know how it goes. Sometimes, risks have to be taken to ensure that our citizens are taken care of, particularly, the ones you call, 'loonies'." He pointed at Ranger. "See, that's where you and your little brother come in. His mate too if you wanted to count her I suppose, even if she wasn't here originally. I don't like- what happened to Rocket," he hesitated on mentioning the subject, staring up at Ranger's eyes, "I'm not proud of it either. Why should I be? It's like having one your own children hurt in front of you."

Ranger snorted, rolling his eyes. "Uh huh, and you obviously care a lot about Rocket if you're going to let him get turned into a machine."

"I do," Astroliopa interjected, briefly glaring at Ranger, "I do care," he repeated, a little nicely this time, "and to be truthful, you were given the intelligence you have now and were separated from your litters for your own good. I fail to see why that makes you so frustrated, that I have given you this gift and rare opportunity. More so, I fail to understand why Rocket, one of the best security guards of Halfworld I have known- decided to run away, and abandon his duty."

"He left because _you _decided to lie to us, _you _decided to use us as your little puppets for your perfect image of a bloody empire. But the sad part, is when he gets out, and returns with help…. you won't have an empire. Because you'll be taken out…. for good. Halfworld will be what it was before. The shrinks and machines were doing a lot better job here than before _you _decided to waltz in and take over," Ranger explained, "and there's nothing you can do to stop him. He's probably well out of this quadrant by now, on his way for help. And he'll be back, Astroliopa."

"Such strong words for a small mammal chained to a wall," Astroliopa remarked mockingly. "But, you see, the sad thing about all of the unique individuals who live and work in Halfworld, Ranger…. is that they are bound to one little chip. What do you think would happen, if I were to tamper with the little switches in his chip….. and say- erase some data?"

Ranger's eyes widened, and he began to shake his head slowly. "No. Don't you even think about it, don't you touch his memories, I'm begging you!"

He ignored the raccoon, and pulled out a small device from his pocket. "Funny how the nature of behavior is influenced in all aspects of what is happening in the world around us. Like how we tend to beg for mercy after insulting our opponents when we are threatened. Right now, for instance, you are doing just that. Even more so, Ranger…. I think you're argument is pointless at this moment in time. I believe, you are wrong. Because, you see, all I must do, is flip a switch and you won't be that big brother to Rocket anymore. He won't remember you. He won't remember me, Halfworld, his mate… not even what happened in the entire 4 years he's been alive."

"Astroliopa, I'm telling you, you don't want to do this. I'll do what ya want, just- for his bloody sake, please, don't remove Rocket's memory! He's all I have, please! I'll tell him to stop, I- I- I'll do anything!" He cried.

"I'm sorry Ranger. You and your brother have made your last mistake."

Ranger began to struggle against his restraints. "PLEASE, NO! DON'T, KILL ME FOR ALL I CARE! KILL ME! I DON'T CARE!"

"It's not over for him yet, don't worry." Astroliopa looked down at the small device thoughtfully, his finger hovering over the tiny control of the device. Even as he shouted and yelled, trying to resist, it didn't stop him from thinking of his next action. "May we meet again in the future, Rocket. Good luck, buddy."

He pressed his finger down on the device.

Rocket's eyes widened as he did so, and as Astroliopa turned in his direction, smiled at Rocket, and winked.

Ranger, devastated, began to scream.

"Rocket, wake up!" Astroliopa ordered, suddenly frowning in Rocket's direction. Rocket began to twitch. He could feel it. "Rocket," Astroliopa barked again, walking towards him, "Come on, WAKE UP!"

* * *

Rocket jolted upward in his sleep as he felt Sam's arm shaking him again, and opened his mouth to attempt to get back his breathe.

"Rocket?" Sam asked, frowning at him, clearly concerned for him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright? You were moving a lot and mumbling in your sleep…. and I think you were shivering too."

Ranger's screaming of outrage still echoed in his ears as Astroliopa pressed the button that literally ended Rocket's old life. Rocket gulped, remembered everything that he'd seen and heard. He shivered more when he realized that it was actually pretty cold in the room, and looked around just to be sure that it was actually his room, and not another illusion of the dream world. He wanted to tell Sam everything, but also didn't feel like it was the right time. "What time is it?" he asked instead, scratching the back of his head, yawning. "It feels like it's still late."

"That's because it's only 3 AM," Sam responded quietly. She glanced up at the clock when he hadn't spoken, and gazed into Rocket's eyes as they both sat up. "Was it bad?"

"Yes and no," Rocket murmured to her, "I- I don't know how to explain it. Creepy stuff. It's kind of complicated."

Sam studied him. "You remembered something didn't you?"

He nodded quietly. "You have no idea."

"Talk about it in the morning?"

He nodded again. "Yeah. Now's not the best time."

Rocket lied back down in his bed underneath the covers and Sam did the same. A minute into their sleeping, relief swept over him that Sam was still there. He purred a bit when he felt Sam wrap himself around his back to keep him warm, and kissed his shoulder.

Even as he tried to sleep, however, within 10 minutes, Rocket's mind still flooded with the images of the 'dream' he'd just had a few moments ago. He blinked, wide awake, feeling his body heat start to come back to him, and shuffled a bit under the covers. He was sure about several things at this point. Ranger had to be his would be big brother. Astroliopa was his master, and had been the one who wiped his memory. Finally, that 'mate' that Astroliopa had mentioned, the mystery girl, had been captured with Ranger for an unknown purpose. It bothered Rocket to think that not only had he had a mate while with Astroliopa, but that the mate might just still be alive. If Sam ever knew….

"Still awake?" She spoke up, glancing over his shoulder at his wide awake face.

"Yeah," Rocket responded, "just thinking," he murmured to her without looking back.

"About what?"

"Things."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Stuff." Rocket became slightly annoyed, even if he knew she was trying to comfort him. His irritancy went away however, as Sam moved herself over is back, and onto his side. He allowed himself to move onto his back, letting Sam lie on his chest.

She lowered herself to his mouth, and caressed his mouth lightly with her lips. "Do I fall into the 'stuff' category?" Rocket kissed her back as she asked the question, which brought a smile to his face.

"Maybe."

"Then listen… go to sleep, but think of something good. Like me." She smiled, then leaned in to his ear, and whispered, "or remember: 69. Me giving you one." She giggled, moving away from him.

Rocket held his smile after she mentioned this. "Well, that brings some good thoughts…. and a really hard stoner down here," he added, wincing a bit, making Sam laugh.

Sure enough, he had much better sleep performance after that little charming thought.

* * *

**A/N Just an FYI - Yes, I do not own Ranger, he is Rocket's actual Brother from the Guardians of the Galaxy TV series. But I made my own personality and backstory for him, and a new appearance. That I do own, but his character in general I don't.**


	24. Voices

**A/N Smaller chapter for all. I hope you all find the chapter to be enjoyable.**

**Be sure to share your thoughts and leave a review!**

* * *

**Chapter 24: Voices**

* * *

A certain raccoon smiled as he rose from the bed he'd slept in. He changed his clothing over to his normal vest and jumpsuit, holding his expression.

Also waking up, Sam stood at the doorway of his room, already fully dressed. She noticed his strange facial expression, and smiled as well. "Someone's happy," she remarked, prompting Rocket into noticing her. "Good dreams?"

Rocket curved his smile a bit and shrugged. "Maybe."

"Was I in them?" She wrapped an arm around his neck as soon as he was finished dressing, vibrating contently in his ear.

He tried to hide his smile.

"I'm guessing the dream had something to do with the second and tenth letter of the alphabet?" Sam pressed.

Rocket grinned. "Well, when you put it that way, yeah." He bent his neck, to look into her eyes, and brought an arm around her back. "But I blame you for putting the image in my head last night."

"At least you slept because of me," Sam pointed out, running her paw across his whiskers seductively.

The sensitive-to-touch whiskers twitched at her touch, but Rocket didn't reject it. "No I didn't. I slept because of a good dream," Rocket countered with a playful frown.

"A good dream that had me in it," she added, "so it was because of me."

"Ah, whatever you say. My point still stands." Rocket persisted. "We should probably check on Quill, see if we're anywhere close to Barraka yet."

Sam nodded. "You're right. It's best we don't keep him waiting yet."

Rocket nodded. Instead of following her, he stood where he was and sighed, leaning against the wall. "Yeah."

Hearing his sigh, Sam looked back at Rocket as the door automatically opened. "You okay?"

It never occurred to him that such a simple question would sound so discouraging, until now. The truth was, Rocket wasn't okay. He didn't feel okay, even after revealing what he knew to Peter. It still irritated him, and it bothered him even more knowing what Astroliopa had done to him years ago. Nevertheless, he didn't want the furry and adorable being he cared about so dearly to worry about him.

Instead, he answered with, "I'm fine. I'll just be a minute." He tried to smile in reassurance.  
Sam clearly wasn't fooled. She walked up to him and cocked her head to the side, kissing his lips softly. "Talk later then?"

"Sure." He kissed her back. "Seriously, I'm fine. Stop worrying," he commanded firmly, trying to be kind in the way he said it.

"I can't." Sam insisted, "if I did that, you'd get hurt." Again, she kissed him, before leaving the room without another word.

Rocket felt the warm feeling of her affectionate exchange still left lingering on his mouth, even after she had vacated his room. He didn't want to wipe it away, and wished that energetic feeling wouldn't leave him.

**_Subject JP-293._**

The words popped into Rocket's head seemingly out of nowhere. He jolted in surprise, then frowned. Where had the words come from? He could've sworn someone was talking.

"Sam?" Rocket looked around the room. He felt a chill run up his spine, and growled, feeling his fur bristle- his normal raccoon defense mechanism. "

He heard it again. **_Subject JP-293._**

_What the- Who?..._

**_Do not ask who. _**Rocket was able to distinguish the strange thought as another voice. It was not him who was thinking this thought. At least not willingly.

He began to slowly boil inside, while also freaking out about what he was thinking. **_Don't bother fretting either. Yes, I can hear what you think now. I can also see you._**

"Where are you?" Rocket growled quietly, "get out of my head!" he mumbled through gritted teeth, gripping his head with both paws.

**_Why, I am here, there, and everywhere of course._** The voice sounded unnaturally sadistic at this point. **_Wouldn't you think so…. partner?_**

Rocket tried to distinguish who spoke. It was difficult with how ghostly and distant the voice sounded in his head. Concentrating was hard, since the voice seemed to echo off his brain…. and it was loud. Somehow, it seemed like shouting, even if it wasn't.

However, he did know one thing: The person called him by 'partner.'

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" He interrogated again. Even if he couldn't see his opponent, he wasn't fazed. Yet.

**_I can see you. But you cannot see me, Subject JP-293, unfortunate as that may be. My master would prefer we communicate nonverbally, although he wouldn't appreciate me speaking to you now without him knowing._**

The simple M word gave away who the mysterious speaker was right away.

_Grimlock. _

The voice sounded pleased. **_You remember some things. Good. It shall make our meeting all the more interesting when the time comes._**

"Where are you? Where is the orb?" Rocket demanded grudgingly. "I want answers, and I want them now!" He felt stupid speaking to air, but he knew Grimlock could hear him.

He flinched as the robot's voice became firmer, making his head pound. **_CALM YOURSELF. Answers shall come in time. You shall have what you seek. Under conditions._**

"I ain't bargaining. I'm coming for you right now you sadistic piece of scrap. You and Astroliopa," he growled, pacing back and forth across the room.

**_Even if your brother were the cost of failure? _**

Another chill went up his spine. _He wouldn't…. he couldn't….. _Rocket tried not to think it, but knew he'd failed already. "Who?" He narrowed his eyes, trying his hardest to look confused.

Grimlock was clearly not amused. **_Don't play games with me, raccoon. You remember. Don't you? Oh so grand big brother, Ranger? He did help you escape after all… at the cost of your memories of course._**

Without Rocket even allowing it, an image of the long haired raccoon flashed through his eyes, Ranger himself, smiling. A long black composite bow was propped on his toes, and a bow quiver was strapped across his back. He wore a long sleeved white combat jumpsuit. Staring straight ahead- as if in a picture- Ranger had his head cocked to the side slightly, as if regarding someone with the cameraman.

Even if he didn't remember much about his brother, just looking at Ranger made Rocket happy. A new energy emitted- similar to that of how he felt towards Sam, and Rocket knew. He knew this had to be his brother. Somehow, someway, he was his long lost brother. This was what made him panicked when Grimlock revealed the image of Ranger. Ranger- whatever he was like- whoever he was- was in trouble.

"Screw. You." Rocket said. "And stop putting stuff in my head. Or I'm going to be putting some more lead in your head pretty soon."

**_Interesting response. You may find it even more interesting to hear that Ranger still remembers you after all these years. _**

_His memory is still there._

**_Yes, but it will not last for much longer I fear… if my master decides to act on it. All I have to do is approve the decision- or act on it myself, and Ranger won't be that big brother you have valued for so long._**

Rocket didn't bother responding, knowing he had more to say.

**_My master is stubborn. You were not supposed to have been revealed the existence of Ranger, but he had me transfer the dream to you anyhow, _**_Grimlock explained, __**His foolishness has foiled our previous plans, so I am forced to offer you a proposition to fix this mistake he has made. I am not a fool. I know what you are capable of.**_

"Mistake?" Rocket laughed. "That's what you call it? You actually doubt your 'master?' Why am I surprised?"

Grimlock ignored him. **_When you reach Barraka, enter the following code: 89P13, at the pedestal you should find upon landing. Enter through the entrance that appears, and wait for further instruction. When you arrive in the entrance, you will be incapacitated. Do not struggle. Do not tell Peter Jason Quill or his associates about what you plan to do, or Ranger dies. Comply, and I will consider allowing your friends to live. Should you choose not to surrender… expect that Ranger will die within ten minutes._**

"My answer is the same: Screw. You," Rocket bluntly replied. "If you know what I'm capable of, you know I'll do anythin' to blow you to kingdom come, and get my brother out alive. One way or another, I will find you, and I will kill you. That I can promise… partner," he finished coldly.

For a moment, he assumed that Grimlock had gone silent, without words. He was greatly mistaken when the pounding in his brain resumed.

**_I look forward to making your acquaintance once more, Rocket Raccoon. Do make good choices. _**

Then, Grimlock laughed, and the voice's echo had completely abandoned Rocket's mind altogether.


	25. Barraka

**Chapter 25: Barraka**

* * *

Several hours later, Rocket found himself staring at the icy orb that Warren had called Barraka. The swirl of cold air that surrounded the light blue planet looked like it would freeze a lifeform in an instant. It stuck to the planet as a moth would to a flame, and seemed to suck out any life that remained in the planet. It gave the raccoon chills just looking at it. How any lifeform could survive in its atmosphere, he wasn't sure he could ever understand.

The statistics for the planet didn't look very appealing either. On the planet itself, they would find temperatures in the low negatives waiting for them- which ended up being the planet norm when it came to temperature. The wind chill sounded even more excruciating, so horrid that Rocket didn't even want to begin to _think, _how cold that felt. Outside its atmosphere, the temperature was at least well into the negative hundreds. As they drifted slowly towards the blue orb, Peter realized that the temperature was too much for the ship to take, and began to back up. The heat inside and outside the ship had already begun to drop as soon as they approached Barraka. When he backed up however, the temperature returned to normal within seconds.

He, along with Rocket and the others, also noticed a much more disturbing feature around the planet. Ships. People. Bright white lifeforms of all sizes and stuck in shape, as if frozen in mid air. Endlessly, the objects floated around space, but never went far, as if stuck in Barraka's orbit.

Rocket nearly jumped as the soulless face of an armed terran floated in front of the windshield. His body looked preserved perfectly, and so did his weapons… but his face held no dread or fear. It was expressionless. His eyebrows were relaxed, and so were his eyes. The man's white lips were parted slightly, as if he were attempting to speak his last words. Eerily, it almost appeared as though the man knew he would die, seconds before his actual death. While Rocket's mind swirled with thoughts of what would happen to them if they got close enough, he also didn't want to feel defeated just by the look of this deceased stranger. He frowned, then shook his head as the terran drifted by, trying to forget what he'd seen, although he'd seen _much _worse in the past.

While they watched, Peter tried to find a break in the harsh temperatures to land without having his ship ruined.

"Sheesh," Sam murmured under her breath, inhaling and exhaling sharply. "This place is a nightmare. What- what even happened here?"

Gamora seemed just as mesmerized as Sam and the rest of the team were at the sight. "They were frozen to death. Once they had gotten close enough to the planet that they realized they needed to turn around…. I assume it was too late," she finished. "A ship's engines can only sustain so much cold for so long. Decrease the temperature of the air enough…. and you will be unable to control the ship. Within seconds, with temperatures like this, every lifeform on the ship will then freeze to a slow death."

Rocket wolf whistled. "That's cold."

"Literally," Sam added, still captivated by the planet's atmosphere. Her eyes reflected the image of the blue planet. Her tail twitched and flickered to the right as if troubled by the sight of the deceased people. She shuddered just looking at them, causing her fur to begin standing up. In attempt to warm herself, she crossed her arms and placed her paws underneath her pits.

**_Amazing, isn't it? _**Rocket gritted his together as the voice began pounding, and growled silently to himself. He was sure the machine immensely enjoyed doing this.**_ The Graveyard of Barraka. So many petty adventurers attempt to try their luck on our planet, yet so little succeed in even reaching the surface. Some just wanted a place to land. So low on fuel…. lack of food driving them mad… all the way to Barraka, where they met their unfortunate demise. Although, I can't say that the number of corpses doesn't provide accessory for our atmosphere. _**Rocket could hear Grimlock chuckle deeply. **_Usually, it is enough to discourage most travelers from even attempting to land on our planet. Congratulations. You are one of the few brave souls that is going to try. _**

_Suck on my lead, _Rocket shot back viciously through his thoughts.

**_Your insults do nothing to harm me, raccoon_****, **Rocket heard the words echo throughout his brain.

_Get out of my head… _Rocket bit back saying the words out loud, knowing Grimlock could hear him plain as day.

Luckily for him, compliance seemed to be a habit for this robotic menace. **_As you wish._**

Finally, the echoes ended, and Rocket's brain no longer felt threatened. _What a creep…. _Rocket hissed to himself. He gazed to Sam

Noticing her discomfort, Rocket strode next to the female and looked out the window with her. She broke off her gaze and blinked in his direction once she saw Rocket. "Nervous yet?" She asked him.

His tail swept the floor behind him and he clenched his lips shut. After giving some thought he shrugged with indifference, flattening his ears slightly, and said, "I don't know. Are you?" He then questioned.

With an anxious sigh, she turned her head away to look at the bodies again. "I don't even know who I am. I don't know who I was before now," she stated, shaking her head. "And the truth is, I'm afraid to find out what who 'Sam' is. If Astroliopa is your boss… what do you think he is to me?"

Rocket didn't bother to answer her last question. "Well whatever happens…. I'm not forgetting you, I want you to know that." He shuffled his feet. "And I don't- I don't _normally _say this sorta' stuff, but it's true. I know we moved fast. It's not even been a week and we've gone this far-"

"Stop," Sam ordered softly, placing a paw over his mouth. "Don't talk like I won't see you again. Because that's not true. I care about you now, and I don't care what you did before. I _know you NOW._"

He growled in frustration, gripping his head. "That's exactly what I'm worried about Sam! What if I'm someone that's supposed to hurt you? You don't know me, sweetheart, that's the problem. I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." She insisted. "You couldn't hurt me."

Rocket scoffed. "You don't know that." He began to glare. "I could be a killer."

"Yes I do!" Sam stepped in front of him. "You've done things that most people would think is insane, but you wouldn't hurt me. I know you wouldn't."

"What if I killed children too?" Rocket countered.

Sam almost seemed to take back what she'd said before, but regained her stance. "You don't. You are not a child murderer. You are not Maverick, you are Rocket. The Rocket I know doesn't do things like that."

"You still don't know that. _I _don't know that," Rocket rose his voice slightly.

Hearing his tone changed surprised Sam, but also enraged her. "How can you say those things after what we've been through together? What we've said?"

Rocket sighed. "We've been together for _six _days. How much do you think you can learn in six days about someone?" He argued.

"A lot can happen in six days, Rocket," Sam glared back at him, "And I'm not about to back away from you just because you think you're going to be some child killer. Why are you so worked up about this anyway?" She demanded, beginning to sound hurt. Her eyes started to twinkle, as if threatening to produce tears.

_Why? _The word hung in the air. Rocket didn't need to try and calm himself down. He understood her confusion, and knew he didn't have a right to be angry at her. Desperately he wanted to tell her, reach out to her, but he knew if he did, he'd risk losing her. She had to know, she deserved to know the truth, yet Rocket feared if he said what he really felt, she'd drop him forever. Him possibly being a killer wasn't what Rocket worried about most. What worried him was the girl in the photograph. His alliance with Astroliopa. Grimlock calling him 'partner'. All of these pointed to bad things to come for Sam.

Instead, he shamefully looked back up to her eyes, and brushed a paw across her face affectionately. "I'll always care about you. No matter what happens from this point on, and no matter what happens to me, I'll never forget you. If it comes to you or me, it's going to be me. You can't die." He shook his head, taking a step back. "Not on my watch. I won't let it happen."

Sam cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes, confused. She began to open her mouth to talk, but Rocket had already joined Peter before she could speak. Still puzzled, she watched him from behind, not sure whether to feel worried or hurt about Rocket's words. She sincerely hoped he didn't plan on making a hero's death move anytime soon.

"There's got to be a way into the planet somewhere," Peter was murmuring, watching the temperature go down no more than a few degrees as he moved. "We try moving in now, our ship and everyone on board is going to get iced." He stood from the pilot's seat to face the Guardians. "Anyone have any bright ideas?"

Rocket wanted to pitch in. Unfortunately, he knew just as well as everyone else did that he was clueless about Barraka. No one knew about this odd planet, save for Warren himself….

_Warren._

Rocket remembered him.

_"__Remember the numbers, Rocket!" _That's what he'd said. But what did they mean? How were they relevant to what he'd set out to do? What could a code help them with? Grimlock had already given the code to get into Astroliopa's facility. What else could the numbers have meant?

Peter sighed when no one spoke up. "If we just had something to help us find a break in the cold. A map, a certain landing area, a more advanced ship…. coordinates…."

_6, 4, 5, 22, 7, A1 Omega. Remember the numbers…. Why? What do they mean?_

Rocket was started to get frustrated. He put a paw on his forehead and closed his eyes for several seconds to think.

Then those beady brown eyes opened, and he knew the answer. The numbers couldn't be a code.

Rocket rushed to the counsel of the ship and begin to vigorously punch in various character . Peter noticed his sudden rush and walked until he was nearly touching Rocket's fur. He leaned in to look at the screen. "What are you-"

"Silence!" Drax interrupted, "I believe our furry rodent is on to something."

He continued putting in numbers, then paused, and switched counsels, dragging the numbers he'd placed into another box. "The numbers Warren mentioned ain't a code Quill…." Rocket muttered, "they're coordinates."

Sure enough, every number and letter fit the blanks.

**6, 4, 5, 22, 7, A1 Omega**

**Do you wish to confirm this as your destination?**

Rocket looked to Peter exceptionally, grinning. "Well? What does our bold leader think?"

"Eh, I don't know Rocket, I'm skeptical to be honest," Peter responded, examining the coordinates. "What if it doesn't lead to a place where the temperature is any better? What makes you think the coordinates are even remotely reliable?"

The mercenary rolled his eyes. "I await another genius idea from you, Star-dork."

All pairs of eyes from the Guardians went to Peter, clearly expecting something leader-worthy to leave his mouth. The Terran gulped, looking ready to speak, but his eyes went to the side of his head, where he flipped Rocket the bird. "Just confirm the coordinates," he miserably replied.

Rocket snickered. "And ladies and gentlemen THIS, is why I always get my way." He sat in the pilot seat, and directed the ship towards their location.

It didn't take longer than a few minutes for him to navigate to the said area. Sure enough, the temperature seemed enough to suffice for the ship, no more than single digit negatives in the atmosphere.

Presumably, Rocket assumed this must've been the entry point Astroliopa's people used to gain access to Barraka. Once they'd penetrated the atmosphere, there was nothing stopping them from traveling wherever they wanted once they'd entered the sky of Barraka. That would've explained how Warren knew those numbers so well. If he'd entered the planet enough times, he should've been able to memorize the coordinates as well as he had in the prison cell.

Peter helped direct Rocket past the cold, and once they'd entered the sky- just as Rocket had predicted- nothing stopped their ship from advancing. Also, just as he'd predicted, upon gaining close enough visibility through the blowing snow, the planet had a basic layout. The hills were snow. The plains were snow. The mountains were snow. Everything was covered in sheer pounds and feet of snow.

"Might want to wear a coat or two," Peter sarcastically commented, "it's a little cold outside children." He looked out the windshield at the snowy plains. "Anyone have any idea where to land in this large scale version of Antarctica?"

Drax frowned. "Ant-what?"

Peter didn't bother answering. Gamora deadpanned Drax, and he directed a look of confusion at Gamora, as if not understanding what he did to receive such a look aimed at him.

Rocket squinted through the blowing snow, noticing an object in the distance. It appeared more of a landmark- difficult to see at first- but not impossible. Appearing in the mountains, a lightning shaped cave rose out in front of the snow covered tops. Zig-zagged into the mountains, it appeared open near the bottom of where the lightning bolt would've hit the ground. Cleary it had to be distinct or unique in some way. Out of all caves, Rocket had never seen a lightning bolt shaped cave before. This must be what they were looking for.

After all why else would such a landmark appear so close to an entry to the planet?

"Quill. I think I have an idea," Rocket spoke up, pointing ahead to the cave.

* * *

The cavern's cold wind bit at Rocket's ears as he entered. Once inside, he realized how warm it felt inside as opposed to the outside, Rocket exhaled with relief. Icicles of various shapes and sizes decorated the ceiling as they entered, and the raccoon was careful to mind the slippery sparkling ice that they walked on.

Peter lifted off his hood, feeling the same relief Rocket had as the temperature dropped. All six walked in silence through the brightly illuminated cavern, taking in the winter wonderland they now examined. The sound of blowing snow and the whistling winds were now growing inaudible with every passing second. Occasionally a high pitched draft of wind would break the eerie silence, or a block of snow would fall in the distance with a small _crack._

Rocket's eyes warily scanned the icy ceiling, noticing the enormous icicles that stared menacingly down at Rocket- their tips as pointy as the edge of a sword. Something about the quiet cavern spooked Rocket, despite that that this seemed like a reasonable look for a natural igloo. However, he felt that this lightning shaped cave was not natural at all, and couldn't possibly be ordinary. Something about it seemed off. It certainly _looked _normal, but it didn't feel normal to him.

Then again, it was similar. The odd circular pattern of ice, the enormous sword-like icicles that decorated the ceiling, the frozen blue walls. He'd been here before. Rocket was positive he'd been here in the past. Although it felt similar, it didn't feel like the good kind of similar. His hand instinctively went to his stomach, where Rocket felt a knot form.

Beside him, Sam's sapphire blue eyes took in their surroundings. Nonetheless, Rocket ignored her for right now, still trying to comprehend why this felt familiar.

His paw went to the icy wall near the entrance. The pads of his furred covered hand smoothly brushed across the wall as Rocket walked alongside it with the team. Removing his paw, he examined the snow residue that still clung to the hairs on his paws like iron would to a magnet, and rubbed the ice crystals off his paw tips. Eyebrows creased with wonder, the raccoon continued walking with The Guardians. Every step he took raised his curiosity level. It was not only the familiarity that made him wonder, but also the location of the code doorway.

"How did we not find this place to begin with?" Peter asked aloud, gapping his mouth. His words echoed throughout the cavern.

Drax nodded. "It seems as though there is a place we have not discovered in this quadrant."

A green assassin felt quite different from Drax's idea. "Or it's just not on the Intergalactic Map itself." Gamora suggested quietly without turning, her own eyes also wandering around the cavern. "It is not the first time it has happened," she claimed, eying Peter, "Planets have been forgotten often. Some have even been declared uninhabitable to a degree where they have been removed from the Intergalactic Map."

The terran bit his lip, widened his eyes, and nodded. "Then I wouldn't be surprised if this planet qualified as one of those," Peter replied.

"It would not be startling to assume our adversary has decided to reside here," Drax remarked, breaking off a piece of icicle from the wall to study it. "If this place indeed qualifies as a forgotten location, then Barraka is somewhere their opponents would not think to look for them at."

Rocket's suspicions were confirmed as they walked deeper into the cavern. An arc of ice hung overhead as they entered, as if marking an entryway to some foreign or unmarked territory. Inside, there were very little traces of messy snow piles, or icicles on the ceilings. His eyes began to widen as he realized how much more this place was beginning to stand out to him. Picking up pace, he carefully walked across the ice towards the center of the room, and looked around.

A perfect circle. Indeed, someone had been keeping this area of this icy wonder tidy and snow pile-free. This area was used for a purpose. A very important purpose that Rocket felt he knew, but could not point out directly.

He began walking again. As quickly as he could, Rocket walked past the circle, and through another arc doorway. He was beginning to remember….

"Rocket!" Peter's voice rose, following the raccoon as he moved. "What's going on?"

Rocket ignored him, then stopped, in mid-stride… thinking…. remembering.

_He ran. He pants as he runs, picking up pace, trying to get as far as he can from… something. Someone is on to him, he's sure of it. Men with guns. Cyborgs with guns. They don't plan to let him leave what he's trying to get away from, but he won't stop running. _

_Another arc. He runs through another ice arc, sprinting on all fours at this point. His gun is weighing him down, but he isn't slowing down to worry about the trigger digging into his back. The sweat droplets on his fur are turning to ice, but he doesn't care. He has to leave. Now. He hated the idea, but he had no choice. The boss already knew. There was no going back. It was live in freedom or live in captivity._

_A code. He quickly drops to his knees and begins to activate something within the ice. Numbers become visible, but Rocket can't see what he was putting in at the time. Symbols begin to appear, then the numbers turn bright red. _

_He turns around and brushes snow over the numbers quickly… placing a panel of ice over it, and brushing more snow, as much as he can._

_Rocket runs. He stands in the center of the circle. He looks to the ice arc doorway, where frantic soldiers begin to raise their weapons his way when they notice him._

_They start to yell, but their voices are inaudible to him. Even so, he knows they're telling him to drop his weapon. But Rocket is smiling. He's smiling at them as they try and threaten him. He knows they won't kill him._

_Then the room begins to brighten… and Rocket's mind goes blank._

Rocket shook his head, then opened his eyes, and turned around, sprinting back where he'd come from originally. "I remember!" he shouted, "there's something here…." he said a little more quietly, racing to the center of the circle.

He began to brush away the snow. The ice panel began to loosen. More snow made way for Rocket's paws. He grasped the panel excitedly and pulled, groaning as he felt the panel start to give in to the snow packing it into the ground.

Then it became loose. There it was. The code tablet.

A complex device built into the ground, it contained various numbers and characters that Rocket could change with swipes of his fingers. The symbols became bright red when you touched them, allowing you to use it. It worked like a teleporter. You type in a particular code and location, and it remembered the area you chose. The code led to a particular realm that you saved, anywhere in the galaxy…. yes…. Rocket was sure that was how it worked.

He remembered. He remembered how to use it as if he'd used it a hundred times before. It scared him, but he was too thrilled to care that he understood how it worked. He was too excited to care how it looked, or to drink in any more details.

He'd found it. This was how he would save Ranger. Kill Astroliopa. Kill Grimlock and god knew what other freaks those two were hiding. Find out who he was once and for all, and save the galaxy.

"Rocket…. what is that?" Peter asked, slowly approaching him from behind. The others did the same.

Rocket was about to respond, but became interrupted by the inevitable. **_Excellent. You do remember more than I once assumed. _**Grimlock. Rocket growled. **_You've come this far already, but before you go any further, you remember our deal._**

_I don't have to do anythin' you say. You're right. I've gone this far. I'm not about to stop now to start obeying you anytime soon. _Rocket coldly responded through his thoughts.

**_I admire the valiant effort you have, JP293, but unfortunately, it ends here. The code, or Ranger and everyone in the teleporter chamber dies right now. It's time to surrender now, subject. It's time to go home._**

Rocket scoffed. _I'm not bowing down you suck your two inch, Grimlock. How about we compromise? You let Ranger go, return my memory, and I don't scrap you for parts later?_

Grimlock's voice pounded throughout his head, clearly becoming agitated. **_I don't find your harassing amusing subject. Put in the code._**

_And I don't find your threatening amusing either, Robo-Cop, _Rocket shot back.

**_Do you wish to test your brother's life? If so, I would like you to know that I can finish him right now. All you have to do is choose not to enter the code, and…. well, you'll see your brother soon. In a body bag. And let's not forget your precious mate…. I know you remember the L, Rocket._**

Rocket snickered._ I already have one, sorry Grimlock ol' buddy._

**_You cared for her very much, I must say. Loved her, as most lifeforms would say. Loved her to an extent that most lifeforms like you wouldn't normally feel. How much I wonder…. would she remember of you, if she were to- disappear? Better yet, how would you feel, if dear Sam were to simply….. disappear?_**

As soon as he said it, Rocket heard several simultaneous rough coughs erupt from Sam. He turned at the sound of her pain, and saw her drop to her knees. Widening his eyes, he rushed to her aid, ignoring Peter, and tried to grasp her back. "Sam! Sam!" He shouted. "What's wrong?" She coughed again, then wheezed, grabbing her stomach. Her eyes, were slits at this point, even if she was still alive.

"Hurts…" she wheezed, "my- ch- chest..." She meet Rocket's brown eyes with her own beautiful blue eyes.

He worriedly gazed over her, not sure how to fix this, and grasped her paw, holding it firmly in one hand while the rest of the team crowded next to her. Groot attempted some healing charms of his own- which produced unsuccessful results, while Rocket held her paw. "You're gonna' be okay girl…" Rocket firmly murmured, his eyes darkening as he heard Grimlock's taunts.

**_She's alive... for now. It's only a simulated heart attack. It won't kill her now, but in a few minutes, she won't be able to recover, and will be dead. Unless you do as I insist. Do not make this any more painful than it has to be, raccoon. You know what I want. Surrender. The code. _**He ordered again.

Rocket's eyes glared down at the ground as he firmly held Sam's paw, trying to comfort her.

**You have one minute left. She will die, subject. My patience is wearing thin.**

_What can I do?... _Rocket knew he was thinking outloud. Loud enough Grimlock could hear every idea he thought now. He wasn't safe no matter how much he tried to think, but he still did. What else could he do after all?

_There has to be another way…. Think! Another code… there has to be one._

His mind struggled for possibilities. Anything Tivan had said… if only there'd been something he'd said that had could help them now.

**Subject. Put in the code. Now!** Grimlock's voice pounded in his head.

_I can't double cross them…. It's not right. I can't do this to Peter, not to Groot, or any of them… but Sam can't die._

"She's not breathing Rocket!" Peter shouted, looking up at the raccoon.

Rocket gritted his teeth together and turned around. There was no argument left. Whether she really was dead or not, Rocket wasn't going to test. He wouldn't let her die.

He had no choice. He had to do what Grimlock wanted. Double cross his friends. Run them directly to their doom... endanger all of them. Although he wanted to believe it was the best ending that would possibly end up with them alive, he had his doubts. Grimlock wasn't screwing around. The machine would destroy everything Rocket cared about just to get what he desired, even if it meant projecting disloyalty toward his 'master.'

His fingers began to put in the code…. but then he paused, at Eight-Nine.

There was one last card he had to play against Grimlock. One last wild card.

**_Wait…._** He could feel the panic in Grimlock's voice. **_What are you doing?! Subject, do not put in that code! I order you- _**

Rocket knew it was a large leap of faith, but it contained the same amount of characters as 89P13 did. It couldn't have been a coincidence. It had to mean something, and if it would help him go against Grimlock's wishes, he was willing to take the chance.

He began to grin once he was finished, staring at the code he'd entered.

**L7114**

"Suck it," Rocket said with a grin, pressing enter.

The cavern around them began to shake almost instantly. Peter stood up and began to back away from Sam, his eyes wide with alertness at the sudden tremor in the Earth below him. Gamora, Drax, and Groot all stayed near Rocket and looked around wildly in all directions, worried about what the raccoon had caused this time. Rocket himself remained calm, although he felt wary about his actions.

**_What have you done?! _**Grimlock's voice shouted in his head,**_ now you friends shall parish for your actions! Mark my words! You will- _**

As if he'd been cut off, the psychic voice of the robotic assassin disappeared just as fast as it'd come to Rocket. But he wasn't worried about the assassin at the moment.

"Want to tell us what just happened, rodent?" Gamora nudged him sharply, eying Sam, but also looking around out of the corner of her eye.

Peter continued backing away, looking up and around himself as if searching for threats. He withdrew his laser pistols for safety and began to scan.

The sight of the terran outside of the circle alarmed Rocket. The edges of the icy circle that the group- excluding Peter- stood on, began to turn bright white. The ice underneath was beginning to also shine brighter than the sun itself. Rocket closed his eyes and flinched, shielding himself from the source of illumination with his paws as he glanced at Peter through his eye slits.

The teleporter was about to become active. And Peter wasn't coming with them.

"Quill!" Rocket shouted, trying to talk over the rumbling, "get in the circle!" He waved the Terran over, but he wasn't listening at the moment, or couldn't hear him. "Quill, hurry!"

Finally, Peter whipped around to face him. His face became wild with concern when he noticed the ice beginning to brighten up, and he met eyes with Rocket, who waved him over. "COME ON!" He yelled.

Peter began to run. Then chaos arrived.

_'__BOOM!' _Icy debris began to rain from above as the ceiling burst with explosive residue. Peter squinted his eyes and ducked his head, then lunged onto his back to avoid a hunk of icicle that nearly impaled him in the chest. Peter rolled onto his side to dodge an incoming rock and began to sit up, right as an icicle sliced through the cloth of his jacket. He grimaced at the graze mark it created on his shoulder, but ignored it and started to run again.

"Peter!" Gamora cried, "watch out!"

A large boulder of snow had fell from the roof and was now rolling down the edge of the wall in Peter's direction. He turned his head just in time to hear her voice and jumped for the edge of the ice circle. The terran shouted as the boulder hit the side of his legs, propelling his body back around…. And sliding over a ledge.

He'd barely paid enough attention to the room to even notice the steep drop that was just below him. Peter's heart leapt into his throat once he realized he was falling, and he grabbed out with his gloved hands, just barely managing to catch himself on the ledge with his right hand.

The fingers in his hand tensed, and he hung limply in the air.

"Quill!" Rocket shouted again, "get up, come on!"

Peter squinted through his clenched eyes over the ledge and grasped it with his second hand in desperation. The edge of the circle was within arm's length. All he had to do was reach it... and so he did. Reaching out with all of his might, Peter lurched over, groaning as his left hand strained to reach the bright edge.

_Just a few inches…. _He felt close, but knew he couldn't reach any further without accidently slipping.

Gamora noticed his struggle and sighed, then sprinted over to Peter. "Take my hand!"

There he was again. With the team. At the Infinity Stone. At his mother's side. Hearing those words. _'Take my Hand.'_ The words that determined the possible fate of the galaxy now determined his fate at this very moment.

Peter reached out with his fingers, trying to grab the assassin's hand. He strained, growling and grunting as he attempted to summon every ounce of strength within his body. Gamora's eyes locked with his. Something in them urged Peter onward. The way they glimmered with determination. The way she looked at him with desperation. He didn't want to stop now.

Her fingers were inches away...

A cold chill shot throughout Peter's hand. He flinched, then gritted his teeth. His fingers began to slowly sink back out of Gamora's reach, revealing what had caused his reaction.

An icicle pierced his hand. Peter shouted out, and withdrew on instinct.

Gamora watched, as the outlaw Starlord tumbled into the dark abys.

* * *

_I'm dead. I know it. I'm dead and now I'm waking up in heaven._

Peter opened his eyes and groaned, sitting up from his resting place.

_Only… heaven isn't supposed to hurt this bad. _He though miserably. Thank god it was only his back. A comfortable bed really made him feel better…. reduced the pain too.

He barely even felt the icicle that had gone right through his palm. Or the boulder hitting his legs.

Or reaching out to grab Gamora's hand.

He frowned at the thoughts, then shook his head. "Wait a minute…." He whispered to himself, beginning to take in his surroundings, and remembering clearly what had happened god knew how long ago.

This wasn't his room on the Milano. Where was his team?... they'd saved his life, hadn't they? That was why he was alive after all, right? Anyone else would've shot him dead if they found him.

Only, he felt he should be dead right now.

_Think Peter…. what happened first? You tried to run for the teleporter circle thingy. You fell down the cliff trying to get to Gamora…. then what? _Peter rubbed the back of his messy hair, groaning again, trying to think. He examined his palm, and wasn't as surprised to find that it only had the scar of where the icicle had penetrated. His mind ended up blank however, as to what happened after falling. He'd gotten knocked out halfway, falling through the air.

It was in that instant that Peter realized several things weren't right. Groot didn't heal wounds that easily. A fall like that should've killed Peter… he was Terran, and he knew it…. well… mostly Terran. How he survived made him wonder just what other species was inside him. Regardless, this was not Peter's room. His team was not here to greet him either. Nor did it sound like his ship, with the hum of air conditioning and the soft rumble of generators in the night.

Someone else had found him…. saved him…. but who?

"I was worried you wouldn't wake up buddy."

Peter jolted around to face the stranger sitting on the opposite side of his bed, watching him patiently.

The man appeared Terran, and smiled at him. He looked middle-aged, with blackish wavy hair which was smoothed and parted on the right side of his head. He wore a black leather jacket with multiple pockets, and had nothing other than a simple laser pistol for a sidearm on his utility belt. His pants were a pair of regular jeans, which Peter was actually surprised to find on this man. A neatly trimmed goatee could be easily seen on his chin, and some hair seemed to be presently growing on his checks. His eyes were unnaturally blue.

"Who- are- you?" Peter stammered, slowly standing up, squinting at the man. "Were are the others?"

With a kind hearted laugh, the mysterious man stood and walked over to Peter. "One question at a time now. You've been through a lot today. Take it easy. Your friends should be fine," he soothingly responded, "good thing I found you when I did. Those Kree would've dealt with you had I not interrupted when I did." He placed a hand on his shoulder, gazing into Peter's eyes, as if amazed by his appearance. "You are lucky to be alive."

Peter felt a chill run through him at the man's touch. He felt uncomfortable… but also curious about this stranger's move. "Who are you?" He asked again, scanning the middle aged man up and down.

He gazed back at the mercenary and chuckled. "Well…. can't say I'm surprised." He laughed silently, then looked at Peter again. "You don't remember, Pete?"

Astonished, Peter gaped his mouth, not needing to really think much about who this stranger was. He'd connected the dots already. The feel of his touch. The blue eyes. His name being said….

"D- Dad?" He stuttered, dumbfounded.

The face of the man lit up, and he extended his arms in greeting. "Welcome home little buddy."


	26. Torn

**Chapter 26: Torn**

* * *

**Previously….**

He was gone. One minute, Peter Quill had hung desperately off of an icy cliff edge in attempt to survive. The next time Rocket blinked, their leader was no longer. As much as the raccoon did not wish to believe it, he knew there was nothing to left to ponder. Peter was gone- this time- _gone._

_Quill…. dead? No…. he can't be, _he thought to himself in a surprisingly casual thought process.

Rocket couldn't believe his eyes, which were widened with disbelief at what he was looking at. The one friend that he'd called an idiot, a playboy, a disgusting nuisance, was deceased. If he had wanted to apologize, there wouldn't be a time he would _get _to do such a thing, at least not now. He wanted to shout, blow a hole in every square inch of the ceiling- if not for the ceiling already crumbling around them-, curse at Grimlock, do something that would get out his anger.

Instead however, he disregarded the notion to do any of the above. As the ice below brightened, Rocket took the last few seconds to contemplate how Peter could be alive. Yet even as he vigorously tried to consider each theory, every possibility sounded more unlikely and ridiculous than the previous one. This thought didn't ease Rocket's mind, and nor did it seem to look any different for Gamora, who continued staring at where Peter had disappeared at.

Her eyes veered off into the distance, as if awaiting for Peter to come back at any moment. Rocket felt the opposite, although he could share Gamora's feelings he supposed.

As they stared off into the distance, Rocket heard a loud high pitched whining from the below the ice….. and then silence.

The area around Rocket went completely dark. Suddenly, he was unable to see, and it felt as if he were a lifeless corpse drifting through mid-air. Nothing was audible, or seemed to emit a single noise. When he tried to move, he found that he could not. Rocket wasn't even able to see himself or his body. He felt nonexistent…. as if he were in deep sleep, or were watching himself from above in some other ungodly dimension. Continuing to feel these conditions for what felt like hours, Rocket continued to drift, unable to even think straight about what was happening.

His feet slammed into the ground. Rocket's eyes shot open and his thoughts burst awake like a weapon accidently discharging as it falls and hits the ground. Scarcely able to balance, he steadied himself against the wall, and found his other companions appeared in front of him one by one. Gamora, Drax, Groot, and then Sam, who was still lying on the ground.

After regaining his senses, Rocket examined their new surroundings wearily. Yellow sirens blared throughout the metal hallways that they were now in-which oddly enough were uninhabited by anyone-, and many automatic doors were left wide open.

Those were only the blunt details that Rocket noticed. He didn't have time to think of any more before something else began to interrupt him.

Someone began to cough. It started out weak and high-pitched, than turned to a gasp -similar to how someone would sound if they were severely injured-, followed by several more rapid, hard coughs. He turned his head to investigate the noise and found Sam, tipping her head upward, her eyes slits as if trying to adjust to the intake of light. She put a hand to her eyes, and continued coughing.

_She's alive! _Rocket's mind exploded with overjoy. He darted next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sam! Hey! You alright?" He asked aloud, talking hastier.

The female coughed again, her body fur twitching and her eyes blinking rapidly, in Rocket's direction. "Y- yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine-"

Something inside Rocket cracked. He lunged forward, embracing her in a hug once she had sat all the way up.

Her eyes lit up as if startled, but she said nothing and smiled, hugging Rocket back. "You didn't think I'd die that easily, did you?" She inquired, not separating from him.

Protectively, Rocket hugged her tighter. He felt her warmth coursing through his paw pads, and even through the small amount of time he'd thought her to be dead, he immensely missed the feel of Sam's fur against his. His expression still held tight with worry as he loosened his grip on her back. He slipped his paws down to her waist so she was nearly nose to nose with him, his throat vibrating with pleasure as he felt her face almost against his. That adorable face of hers, with those sapphire blue eyes that he'd had the privilege of staring into plenty of times. Her soft and fluffy fur, which she kept neatly smoothed over so it looked nearly identical to Rocket's- and also kept her not looking as skinny as a bone- and the way her round little snout was shaped. He adored everything about her. One of the many reasons he loved Sam so deeply.

"I told you: Me over you," Rocket responded firmly, "I won't let anything happen."

He managed a small smile when she pressed her nose against his, one of her favorite ways to tease him he assumed by now. "But I want it to be us. Not one of us," Sam declared, "I don't think I could go on my own at this point."

Rocket exhaled coolly, keeping his nose against hers. "You don't have to be alone." He closed the conversation and the distance between their lips, smooching her on the mouth. Sam purred with affection, relishing his paws on her sides, especially as he held her close.

Eventually, she separated, her expression stoic as she glanced around at their surroundings. "We should be going. Where- are we, exactly?" She asked.

Gamora kept her blade unsheathed, while Drax did the same, staying nearly back to back with her. Groot kept on the defense, crouching low near Sam and Rocket, holding a bulky root grown arm in front of them, in attempt to guard them from any impending threats.

"Yes, an explanation would be more than welcome at this point!" Gamora tirelessly stated eyes scanning the halls.

Rocket knew they were both right. He'd brought them into this situation, and with Peter gone, he had to take control of it. There were no additional choices to be made. This raccoon was the only one that could get them out alive. At this point, they had two missions: Get Ranger, and get the orb out intact.

"That lovely contraption you saw back there was a teleporter," Rocket began, carefully choosing his words- particularly around Gamora. He withdrew his machine gun and watched the halls with them, expecting soldiers of the sort he'd seen in his dreams to come running directly to them. "I don't remember exactly what that place was back there, or why it has a teleporter, but it must've been an entryway of some sort to this place. Where we are right now? This is Astroliopa's base. And it has people from my past. People that I think we need-" Rocket he waved his hand back towards the bright yellow circle near the wall behind them absently- "if we're going to get out of here alive. They could be allies."

At this point, he was sure Gamora couldn't think up any other options, judging from her frustrated sigh. With Peter gone, he knew she'd be an angry wreck inside, but he also knew that wouldn't stop her from finding a way to finish this job, even if it meant following a raccoon's lead.

"Then make haste rodent! We have work to do here!" Gamora urged him to lead on.

The sound of shouts down the hall and frantic boots hitting the metal floor confirmed her need to sound hasty. Rocket nodded and gestured for them to follow, running through the nearest room he could find that avoided the soldiers. He didn't need to be told that the sounds of those shouts weren't friendlies.

He quickly looked around and saw that they were in another hallway and cursed to himself. _Think. You've been here before Rocket. You know this looks familiar. Remember… _It was easier said than done. Blaring sirens and enemies running around them didn't make it a good setting for Rocket to think right now.

Jogging down the hall, he ducked into another corridor with his friends. This time they got luckier.

The raccoon hadn't had the time to stop and notice that each hallway contained a large holographic map on the wall to help someone navigate throughout the structure. As massive as it looked, Rocket still wanted to examine it. He figured it was better than nothing after all.

Gamora tugged him backwards as several cyborgs rushed by Rocket. "What are you doing?!" She whispered loudly into his ear, "are you trying to get us killed?"

"I have to see that map," Rocket persisted, trying to examine it from afar, shying backwards each time a guard ran past them. All it took was one turn of a ninety degree angle and they would see them….

He tried to make out the map, and the selection of little hallways. **You are here. **The little arrow pointed to the part of the corridor they were now in. It showed many blinking green lights, which Rocket could safely assume were open doorways. As he looked through a certain area in a hall, he realized that there were lines of smaller red dots, in an area marked, **Confinement Cells.**

Only one dot was green.

The door was open. It had to be Ranger's. Somehow, that code had to have been intended for the purpose of rescuing Ranger. Rocket had designed the code before he'd left so he could come back at some point to rescue him! That would've explained why all of the doors were open, and the sirens that were blaring. Astroliopa couldn't close the doors if the base were on lockdown… meaning no one could do anything about it.

He only wish he knew how Tivan of all people had gained possession of the code…. a code that Rocket himself had created for the day he would come to his brethren's aid.

Nonetheless, the dot was close. Conveniently, it was only two halls down from Rocket's position.

They maneuvered their way through the halls, avoiding guards as they went, then made a sharp B-line right for Ranger's cell when the cost was clear.

"Stop!" Rocket urged them before Gamora could unlock the door. "Groot, can you see another raccoon in there by any chance?"

Groot narrowed his eyes and glanced through the top of the door's glass panel, then shook his head. "I am Groot." (Not really.) Groot's eyes widened. "I…. I am GROOT!" (Wait…. I think I do!)

Rocket smiled widely. "Get it open then! What are we waiting for?"

Gamora pressed the button on the already unlocked control console, allowing them to venture inside.

Once inside the prison cell, Rocket found it looking much different as opposed to his solitary confinement cell. Inside, it appeared nothing more different than a simple room…. Made with the same blue steel color like Ranger's cell had, except there was a pair of stairs leading up to a platform above them. Eerily, and almost too easily, he looked as if it lead right to what they were looking for.

No guards at stopped them. No guards were in the prison room. Rocket would have assumed they'd have noticed the only unlocked cell in this base, but how they didn't surprised him.

"Lock the door," Rocket ordered to Groot, without turning around, "we don't need any surprises in case this is some sorta' trap." He knew it was too late to avoid whatever trap was outside right now, but he wanted to get Ranger out. That was priority one.

He began to walk up the stairs, Gamora and Drax close behind him while Groot blocked the door with broken pipes and whatever other materials he could scrounge up from his root arms.

Once he'd reached the top of the stairs, the next thing he saw nearly made his heart leap into his throat.

"Is that another…" Sam finished Rocket's own thought.

Stuck against the steel wall, above the ground, a long-haired raccoon's head limply hung low, as if in a state of sleep. He wore a white jumpsuit, and seemed much more aged than Rocket had seen him before. He appeared bulkier too, taller in height if Rocket was being accurate enough, but nevertheless familiar.

Groot walked alongside them, and immediately began to help Rocket break the strange raccoon free of his restraints. Once free, Groot calmly brought the white suited animal down for closer inspection, and laid him across the ground.

Rocket was sure of it. He had to be Ranger. The familiarity couldn't be a mistake.

Rocket walked over to him after hopping off Groot's back, then sprinted down to his knees to his side and began to shake his shoulders. "Hey, buddy! Ranger!" He called him by what he hoped was his really name. "Come on man, wake up!"

As if Rocket were looking into a mirror, the same beady brown eyes opened briefly, then closed quickly at the light. The odd raccoon groaned, then began to stir, making Rocket's excitement level rise. Sam hovered over him along with Rocket. "Ranger! It's me, Rocket! Remember? Your- your brother!" He felt weird saying it, but decided to go with whatever might've sounded familiar to him.

The raccoon's eyes stirred again, and he opened them to the size of faint slits, and groaned lightly. "Why is there two bloody copies of mah' head?..." he groaned, "I must've bumped my buggin' noggin'…." His strange accent that he'd also had in the dream began to show more.

Sam giggled, moving away from him. "He thinks we're a mirrior."

Rocket chuckled too, and slapped his check with his paw lightly. "Buddy, come on! It's Rocket. Pal, for the love of mother- would you wake up already?!" He shook Ranger even more furiously. Not how he imagined meeting his sibling for the first time in two years.

As if recognizing his voice, Ranger's eyes widened beyond slits, revealing the shade of brown Rocket had seen that reflected his own eyes. "R- Rocket? Is that- bloody you?"

Barely able to contain himself, Rocket smiled widely and nodded more times than he meant to. "Yeah, yeah, that's me! It's me!"

Ranger sat up, and rubbed his eyes. "Christ….. how did you…." he shook his head, then scoffed, and laughed. "You- ya got back! I knew ya would!" The mammal that was at least an inch taller than Rocket sat up and crushed him to death with a hug that was even worse than Groot's.

"O-kay-" Rocket wheezed, "too- much," he added, patting his back weakly, until Ranger finally released him.

"How'd you remember? I thought I'd never see you again lil' brother…." Ranger continued, still clearly in disbelief at seeing him.

Rocket went with the short version. "Long story. And I think that Grimlock guy's got somethin' to do with it, am I right?" He assumed.

Ranger nodded. "If you remember as much as I think ya do, than I think you have a pretty good idea what the bugga' has to do with this. He's the whole reason we're in this blasted mess in the first place!"

"Where's Lylla?" Rocket asked hastily. "Does he still have her?"

Ranger nodded slowly. "You remember her?" Rocket nodded back. "Damn…. You came at a bad time lil' man. You won't like what's happened to her…."

"What?" Rocket demanded. "What did he do to her-"

A great screeching deafened Rocket's hearing, causing him to wince. Like nails on a chalkboard, the noise continued behind him. He turned around to yell a curse at whatever was making the racket, but paused when he saw the only adversary it could be in a time like that this.

The long serrated blades of the machine finally ceased the horrible noise they caused in colliding with the ground. Sparks appeared as he sharply swiped the ground with both gauntlets, and he began to repeat the motion as he started to walk in a circle. His dark black cape flowed steadily with each perfectly placed footstep as he watched Rocket with his bright red eyes. Both eyes appeared to glare at him with the way they twinkled occasionally, and Rocket found his appearance all the more sadistic with the way he continued to stare at him in that unsettling, cold, gaze. With every footstep placed, his blades stroke the ground with a loud screech, causing more yellow sparks to fly into the air.

It wasn't Astroliopa, but Rocket wasn't surprised to find his right hand robot, standing in his place.

Grimlock.

"Did you believe, JP293 that it would be that easy to try and save your dear sibling?" He inquired out loud.

He laughed. Rocket almost didn't realize how hysterical his laugh sounded, but he didn't care once it had come out.

"You-" he pointed to Grimlock, then laughed again, gritting his teeth together. "I remember. Don't think I don't know what you did to me. What you and your little boss did. I _know, _I _remember _all of that ridiculous crap you made me go through. And yet you-" he pointed again with his paw- "have the NERVE, to try and kill the ones I care about. You have the nerve to screw with me and send bounty hunters after me. You have the nerve to organize hundreds of Kree soldiers to destroy me, and to talk to me inside my head. More importantly, you have the nerve to ruin my life, take away the majority of what makes me a raccoon, and put me back together again….. AND LAUGH!" He shouted, smiling sadistically. His fur bristled defensively while his eyes brightened angrily.

"Do you really believe you remember all that went down during the first four years of your life?" Grimlock replied back. "Believe what you wish, Rocket, but know that you don't recognize all that happened during those years. That are still many things you have yet to recall during those forgotten years."

"Oh yeah?" Rocket scoffed. "What else do you want to tell me? You killed my parents? That you stole my rubber ducky as a kid? That you burned down a damn orphanage? What else don't you think I know!?"

"About her. The female you have loved so deeply."

The raccoon froze at the mention. _Letter L. _He still couldn't remember her name. Her image however, remained beautiful as ever to him…. with those clear brown eyes, soft grey fur and that small round nose of hers. "Sam is who I care about," Rocket replied, not allowing hesitation to enter his tone, "not some chick I used to know years ago." He snickered, "not some killer stripper."

Grimlock walked to the center of the platform and looked up to the raccoon, stopping in his footsteps. "I believe you know that to be a lie. Your heart lies with the one you left behind so many years ago, yet you still fail to grasp the reality of this truth. Yet you still stumble behind the lies of JP369." His gaze fell upon Sam. "The one who still remains to withhold her dishonesties from you."

The face of Sam appeared distraught by Grimlock's suggestive wording, and she uneasily shuffled behind Rocket.

"May I ask… when did you plan to tell your companion about the past?" He challenged Sam. "About what _you_ remembered?"

Rocket had enough of listening to him. "Shut up," he ordered Grimlock, "you're a liar. You always lie! You're nothing but a stupid piece of scrap who won't shut his dang mouth! So maybe-" He withdrew his machine gun and jumped off the platform in front of Grimlock- "I should do it for you!" He shouted, aiming the gun right at his head. "Read my lips: I don't care _what, _you say, I decide my own life! Whatever happened before happened."

Ranger jumped next to Rocket in a perfect crouching position, wielding a Laser Pistol. "He's right Grim. Ya already taken 'nough from o' lives. No more blasted lies-" he pointed at the ground- "it ends here."

The robotic assassin didn't move a muscle or shy away at their combined threat. "Perhaps you are right," Grimlock responded bluntly, angling his head down, his red eyes shifting in between Rocket's small form. "Only, there's one person who may not agree with you on that philosophy at the moment."

Rocket snickered. "And who's that?"

In a slow, single motion, Grimlock began to lift his head above Rocket's gaze.

He murmured one single word. "Her."

Out of instinct Rocket lifted his head as the light around him became darkened by a shadow suddenly looming over him. A blur of a green combat suited figure descended upon the raccoon, double kicking him against the wall. He flinched and aimed point blank at the figure with his barrel to shoot, but the armored opponent ducked to avoid several bullets and kicked the weapon out of Rocket's grasp.

Ranger fired a laser bolt at their enemy's head, only to realize it'd harmlessly hit the wall adjacent to its head, allowing the figure grab his pistol arm. With a grunt it swung Ranger over its shoulder, slamming him back first into the ground.

Rocket barely cast a glimpse at his friends who were engaging Grimlock, before lunging at the strange figure and aiming several wild punches at its helmet. His enemy was quicker than he anticipated. It swiftly took a stance and dashed to the right then swung its head out of fist range, then with a sharp turn it sucker punched Rocket in the gut. He tumbled over, recovering with a snarl, and retorted by kicking the enemy point blank in the chest when it sauntered over to finish him.

It caught his foot with both hands, and before he could even blink, the armored figure had pulled him by the foot right in front of his face, and slammed him into the ground with it's free hand.

Staring down at Rocket momentarily, the small figure- about his height- lifted its fist to finish him, still clutching him by the scruff of his neck tightly. While he knew how serious a situation this was, he still couldn't help but notice the skinny brown tail on the furry figure. It lingered freely near the behind of the figure's armor.

Grimlock had referred to this enemy as 'her.'

Rocket widened his eyes. Even with the light green armor covering nearly every aspect of this creature's body, he saw the tail. Something was wrong. This wasn't Deadshot. Quill was right.

Someone else was behind this suit. With a different tail, just like he'd said.

Rocket did the inevitable and ducked right as the fist of the figure sailed over his ear and smashed into the metal ground beside his head. Right as this happened he took the opportunity, and grabbed the figure's head with both hands, and pulled on the helmet.

Devastated, the frantic figure lunged its head free of Rocket's grip out of natural reflexes, sending the helmet flying off of its head.

Memories.

Memories were written all over her. The L. The L was her. Rocket recognized this female. Things were coming back to him.

A name… Lylla.

Her brown fur around her face was matted from constant use of the helmet, but her beady brown eyes stared attentively at Rocket with a smile. The otter impossibly appeared to shine in appearance as she stared, quirking her nose as if smelling him from a distance.

Grimlock had jumped out of range of the other Guardians' attacks. He assured Lylla to his side.

Lylla smiled and glanced out of the corner of her eye at Grimlock, then sinisterly winked at Rocket and scampered to his side on all fours.

"Remember now, Subject?" Grimlock asked from afar.

Rocket was still staring at Lylla. He'd felt astonished at her presence, but seeing her next to the giant machine was now beginning to confuse him. What did she think she was doing? She should know what he was doing by now…..  
"L- Lylla?..." Rocket stretched the word, gazing at her as if she were from another world. He smiled widely, then took a few steps forward towards her, more than ready to hug her, or do something of that effect. "You're alive." He breathed. "I- remember."

"Rocket?" Lylla's gaze softened, and she made the smile appear more genuine, her gaze brightening. She looked up to Grimlock as if waiting for approval, and the giant nodded.

Almost too eagerly, she approached the raccoon on two legs. When the Guardians reacted to this, Rocket put a hand in the air to signal them to stop.

"You- remember me too?" Rocket couldn't believe it. She really did remember him.

"I do." She smiled, "And I missed you."

That's when things began to seem out of place. Lylla's smiled turned sadistic, and her eyes glimmered with something dark inside them, as if she had something else in mind for Rocket. She wickedly laughed, the sort of laugh that he knew did not sound like Lylla's laugh at all, then regarded him briefly with a pretended quivered lip.

"Or I did miss you," she added a little more viciously, her teeth forming a snarl.

"Lylla," Rocket replied, frowning, "what's wrong girl?"

The otter appeared to coldly regard him with her sudden glare. She looked at him as if he were the biggest threat right now, the person she felt most skeptical and distrusting of. Her enemy. "I know you missed me Rocket. I would not be the least bit startled to hear that you still think of me each day and night in the galaxy. Or whatever of my memory remained inside that thick, hard headed skull of yours," she added, still keeping her eyes on him. "But-" she pointed at Rocket, "-you see…. you hurt me. You made me very upset. _You _left _me, _behind, to Grimlock and his goons. You left me to Halfworld when _you _promised to get us out."

Rocket expanded the size of his eyes, then squinted them at her, puzzled. "I did. Lylla, you know I did. You told me….. to leave. You said there was no way I could get to you, and you told me to go! Me and Ranger. You told us to leave. I still tried to save you, but there was nothing I could do," he insisted, "and then Ranger got split up from me….." He shook his head. "And they took him."

"… and yet you still persist to leave? How dare you," she growled, "how dare you leave me to die. You should've come back for me. Turned back while you still had your memory. Saved my life. Live up to your promise." Lylla softened the darkness in her eyes and walked up to where she was almost an inch from Rocket's face. "Showed that you loved me."

The words struck Rocket directly in the heart. He felt it pierce his chest as if cupid's arrow had just gone through at that moment, and his heart nearly broke in half. He felt both angry and slightly saddened to hear such a thing come from her.

So angry that he didn't realize what he'd said next, until it was too late.

"Lylla. I do love you. I've loved you since the day I meant you when we were kids," he explained, remembering even more than he thought he would, "Heck, I still feel that way about you. I can't take it back. Especially now that I remember you. It's not fair to you that I just remembered that I cared about you," he continued. He leaned forward towards her face with his own.

The words appeared to sink into her for a moment. "You say those things yet you still choose to leave me. The time we spent together…. Rocket. Don't you remember?"

* * *

_Rocket allowed Lylla to guide him into the room and steadily as ever. He smiled at her and leaned forward, kissing her on the mouth once they were out of view of the robots in the hall as his room door closed. _

_"__How did it go this time?" She asked, smiling back at the raccoon._

_At the moment, the raccoon did not have any sort of machine gun on him, except for twin pistols on his utility belt, which were loaded with nothing more but bullets. He looked much younger, his fur softer and neatly trimmed as opposed to his rough, grimy present day appearance. His snout and face were less developed, implying that he had to have been a teen… or a young adult at this time._

_He'd just turned 3. Rocket remembered. He's barely become an adult at this point….. yet what followed was a surprise, even for Rocket._

_"__Ha!" Rocket laughed lightly, his voice full of energy, "it wasn't too hard. They didn't have a chance." He smiled, placing his hands on Lylla's hip. He tenderly pressed his nose to hers and kissed her softly. "Just a couple runners today. Tried to jump the gate." He chuckled, shaking his head, then sighed. "And one tried the escape pods."_

_She cocked her head to the side. "You appear worried. Did something go wrong?" Lylla questioned._

_Rocket frowned. He walked over to his bed with Lylla and sat down, then put both hands underneath his chin and appeared to think. "It's just….." he felt hesitant trying to explain it. "It was a little girl. Barely a teenager. One of 'em at least."_

_She placed a hand on his shoulder, edging closer to Rocket while he stared down at the ground. "Did you have to-" Obviously, she didn't want to finish her thought._

_Rocket brought relief to her by shaking his head. "No. I couldn't do it. She was- like me." He decided to say. "I couldn't shoot her. And because of that she knocked me over the head with a gun and got away."_

_"__You're lucky she did not harm you any further," Lylla remarked once he'd finished._

_"__I know." He nodded. "It was a pretty stupid move I made, but I don't think she wanted to kill me either. Seemed like she was afraid."_

_Lylla nodded in return. "I would be afraid if I were her age too, wielding a gun like that. Killing people isn't an easy thing to deal with afterwards. Perhaps it was best for her to leave Halfworld."_

_"__Eh…." Rocket pondered this with a cock of his head. "Maybe."_

_"__Maybe?" Lylla chuckled, turning her head in his direction._

_Rocket then stole a glance at her and grinned. "Okay, don't get all sassy on me girl! Or just 'maybe', I'm going to not talk to you anymore."_

_Lylla gasped sarcastically. "Oh, you would not dare. A gentleman like yourself wouldn't even consider doing such a thing." She smiled slyly as he held her hand, then flipped around so he had his second hand on her knee. "But you couldn't…."_

_"__I could too," Rocket challenged, frowning as he playfully avoided her mouth._

_For several moments, they held hands, and Lylla continued trying to touch her mouth to his, while Rocket maneuvered out of the way. Finally, her nose rested against his, and Rocket pretended to act surprised. "There's no escaping your fate," she declared. "Just maybe, however, you could fix that…."_

_"__I guess ya did catch me." Rocket grinned. He closed the approaching gap between his and Lylla's lips. "Just 'maybe'…. I'll take my punishment." He kissed her back deeply._

_Lylla affectionately purred, allowing Rocket's mass to overcome her, leaning her back against the bed. She laughed silently as he began kissing her neck, and giggled at the feel after a few seconds. "And just maybe…." Rocket mumbled, "I'll slip my hands around your pant waistband…." He did so, and enjoyed the feel of her bare body fur against his paws as he gripped the waistband of her pants with both hands. _

_Even as the feeling excited him, and as he appeared to be advancing toward more intimate actions, Rocket quickly realized what he was doing and halted his advance all together. _

_Lylla looked to noticed his actions, and stared back up into his eyes, while he blushed with a heat-load of embarrassment, and gulped._

_"__Lylla…. I'm-" Rocket began, beginning to remove his hands, "sorry, I shouldn't have-"_

_To his surprise, her paw gripped his hands before they could move away, putting him back on top of her. "Wait," she ordered. She examined Rocket for a moment, then looked into his eyes. Her gaze softened, and Lylla put his paw back to her waist. "I like it."_

_She remained silent after saying this, pursuing her lips together as if taking careful consideration, then responded finally. "I think- I think we should do it."_

_Rocket's eyes became ovals. He became even more shocked when he realized what she was referring to by 'it,' rather than feeling pleased by her answer. "Wait- you don't mean….." he frowned, puzzled. "You're saying, you think we should have se-" _

_"Y__es," Lylla urged on, "I think- I'm rather fine with the idea. Do you have any objections?"_

_ "__I- I thought you said you were gonna follow that thing, like your parents did? That belief thing? If ya dad finds out I'm-"_

_"__I lied," Lylla replied, "the abstinence thing was my idea. I wanted to abstain from any sort of sexual relationships because I felt as if men were not an important need in my life. I felt they would be a barrier to my education." She smiled at Rocket. "But you have proved that wrong it seems…."_

_Rocket wasn't sure he could process what he as hearing. "Still, if your dad finds out, you know what he'll do if he finds you and me were sleeping together…" he stretched._

_Lylla chuckled. "But, I do recall a certain Rocket Raccoon saying that adults make their own decisions….. and as of several months ago, we are adults, am I correct?"_

_"__Says my old teenage 2 year old self…" Rocket mumbled to himself, getting off her momentarily. "Sometimes I don't think when I say things. And we're 'barely' adults."_

_"__That seems to be a habit for you, not thinking things through," Lylla smirked. "And you were the one I thought not long ago had been watching me bathe.. because he found features of my physical structure interesting."_

_"__That was one time," Rocket scoffed._

_Lylla narrowed an eyebrow at him._

_Rocket sighed. "Okay, two times. You got me. But look, Lylla, I don't care how much I'm interested in you. I respect ya too much to push you to 'do it' with me. I mean, I can be a perv, granted, but I'm not that kind of guy. You don't want to, I won't push you."_

_She sighed in response to Rocket's statement. "I know. You are a sweet and kind individual Rocket. While you may not be the most perfect or sane creature, I found myself attracted to you of all people." The otter sat up from the bed and faced Rocket. "And believe me, I am capable of knowing my decisions." Lylla extended her hands away from herself. "My decision now, is yes. I am fine with intimacy..." She walked around the raccoon, and kept eye contact with him, smiling as she put her face closer to his."So long as you wish to do the same of course."_

_Rocket smiled. He leaned over Lylla again, and she replaced herself on the bed, and guided his paws to her waist. "__Long as your daddy doesn't find out…. I'm fine with it if you're fine with it."_

_"__He won't."_

_"__And as long as you don't hold back."_

_A glimmer of mischievousness sparkled in Lylla's eyes. "That's more of your job I would think."_

_He began to kiss Lylla again. "'Long as you're fine with it, I'm fine with it," he mumbled. "Like I said."_

_"__Then take me. Make me yours," Lylla urged him, kissing Rocket back._

* * *

Rocket dismayed himself with what he continued to remember. Little bits of the memory came together like a thousand piece puzzle, and soon enough, he remembered what it was like. He could _remember, _every _second, _of being intimate with Lylla. Their first time. What shocked him even more was that he found that this was not the first time he'd engaged in intercourse like this with her. Lylla and him were extremely close at one point. Closer than he could ever have imagined. They _loved _each other- or had- at one point.

_Oh god… _Rocket thought, _I had- me and Lylla- we had sex._

This spiked new memories. The more that he remembered, the more Rocket came to a final conclusion. He was horrified. Not only had he been with Lylla, and loved her, but afterwards, he'd gone as far as being with Sam and done just what he had done with Lylla in that memory.

It actually felt _good, _what he'd done with Lylla. He liked it, and he knew he could not deny his feelings.

With a spike of guilt, Rocket realized he did still love Lylla. Seeing her now, he enjoyed the sensation of just looking at Lylla. It seemed like a complete hole in his heart had become fixed by only witnessing her appearance. She wasn't like Sam. She was _much _closer than the female raccoon could ever be to him.

"I do." Rocket stepped up to her. "And don't you _dare _think for a moment that I don't love you."

"No." Lylla shook her head. As if she were a soulless machine, her emotion completely disappeared with one blink of her eyes. "I can't be with you. Not when you are with that scrappy thing over there….." she clenched her teeth, seething at Sam, who still stood on the platform above them like a statue.

Rocket began to feel panicked. "Lylla. It's not fair. You know I couldn't remember you! If I could still remember, do you think I would've-"

"Lies!" Lylla hissed, stepping away from Rocket as if he were a poisonous snake. "You…. you had the nerve- to sleep with another woman! Over me!"

A pang of sadness hit Rocket. He wanted to look at Sam, but was fearful of what he would fine on her face.

Pain? Sadness? Anger? All three? He didn't want to know.

The words of what he tried to say could not leave his mouth.

"And you would've, even if you had recalled me! You left me….. you wouldn't have cared if I died. You wanted me to perish." She growled. "You wanted to hurt me. Watching. Waiting, like the little lustful scum raccoon you are…. plotting to hurt me…. betraying me. You saw me in that tunnel, and you left me. And you smiled."

Rocket's ears stood a little straight at hearing her mention this. _Wait…. How does she know Sam? I never said her name when she was around…. Did I? And betraying her…?. _His blood ran cold, sending chills up his spine. Grimlock had made it sound as if she had been kept in captivity. She could never have known about Sam…. and the Lylla Rocket knew would never talk like this. Something felt awfully wrong about her. The way she spoke, laughed, and the way her eyes glimmered in that evil way they now did.

She could've known Sam by Grimlock mentioning her. However, that didn't explain her irrational behavior. He'd never betrayed her, and Lylla knew it. Where that thought came from, he wasn't sure. A tunnel?... only Ranger was in the tunnel. Rocket hadn't tried to get to her in a tunnel, he'd used vents, judging from the little part his memories could pick up. Too many guards blocked his path. That was when he got the call from Lylla to go….

"Lylla…. what are you talking about?" Rocket slowly asked. "How did I…"

She glared at him. "You watched me. You left me…." she began to growl more. Her eyes grew more feral.

Rocket's head shot around to look at Grimlock. "What did you do to her?" He demanded.

"I fail to understand-"

"ANSWER THE QUESTION! What the hell did you do to her!?" Rocket shouted furiously.

Grimlock cocked his head to the side. "Why…. we told her the truth, Rocket. That's all you ever wanted to tell her, wasn't it?"

He shook his head, snarling, and tightened his fists.

"I'm me Rocket. Don't you recognize me when you see me?" Lylla laughed, twirling around, "EX- lover boy?"

Rocket pointed to her without breaking his stare at Grimlock. "That thing- is not the otter I know. She does not talk like that. She knows I didn't betray her, I com'ed her myself, and she told me to leave." He glared at the machine. "And she would NEVER, work for you."

Grimlock chuckled. "Do not make me laugh. Make a few tweaks to their minds….. and a lifeform will work for anyone. You should know this, after all, Rocket. Seeing as how you have undergone a similar process after your escape"

The truth swam into Rocket's mind. He gaped his mouth and looked at what he thought to be Lylla, then clenched his teeth grudgingly at Grimlock. "She-"

"Yes. She had a few… corrections, made to what she 'thought' she had seen and heard from you. Changed her perspective to what it should have been. Showed her the truth. Just as I had said before, raccoon. Didn't we, Miss Lylla?"

The otter blinked and smiled sweetly in the robot's direction, then frowned darkly at Rocket's direction "Absolutely. I should have realized who he really was. Should have noticed the little act he was putting on behind that mask."

Inside Rocket's head, his brain swirled with the answer. Lylla had been brainwashed. Almost two years it'd been, and Grimlock had the nerve to make her forget him all together. Never again had she been able to miss Rocket. Never did she get to plan on how to escape or to communicate with him. She wouldn't get to even think of Rocket positively during those years. Her mind had probably only been filled with thoughts of hatred for Rocket, the want to kill him for 'hurting' her, and 'leaving her behind'.

This was why she seemed to act like a total different person to Rocket. This was what Grimlock had meant by 'procedure.'

"Change her back," Rocket ordered, his voice beginning to quiver. He started to shake and clenched his teeth together. "You change her back! That is not Lylla!" He started to rise his voice again, his fur bristling ferociously, showing his violent nature.

"I am afraid that is not possible. You have made the mistake of committing various crimes during your escape of Halfworld, and in doing so, your brother has received his punishment for aiding you. Your punishment however, is something long-term. Lylla's memory manipulation is not temporary."

Soldiers burst into the room from the closed doors at the end of the hall. Rocket was too late to realize that his own machine gun was still on the platform with Sam and Gamora.

Gamora rose her blade defensively and ducked before a guard's bullet could reach her, but an electric charge reached her foot, incapacitating her. Drax leapt off the platform to attack Grimlock with his dagger, only to receive the same fate as Gamora had.

Sam snarled and fired off several sniper rounds at the group of charging guards. Several flinched and hesitated their advance, and one slipped onto the ground, leaking bright blue blood onto the steel ground from a bullet wound. She dodged a charge being fired at her with the help of Groot's root shield and killed another guard.

Then she hit the ground. Electricity coursed throughout her body, and she shouted, straining to keep her muscles in control, her eyes twitching wildly. Finally, Sam was unconscious.

Groot shouted his normal war cry and covered Sam with his root shield, struggling to keep himself covered as soldiers advanced on him.

"It's permeant," Grimlock finished, ignoring the combat around them.

This was enough to send him over the edge. His friends falling around him. Peter dying. Now he was discovering that the only girl he'd loved as a child was gone forever.

Rocket Raccoon was not going to go out like this.

_**"NO!"**_ Rocket shouted out of outrage, lunging at Grimlock on all fours, showing his vampire-like canines as he descended onto the assassin.

His vision went white before he could touch Grimlock, and electrical volts coursed throughout his body as he hit the hard ground.


	27. Complications

**Chapter 27: Complications**

* * *

_"__I officially hate Geometry," two year old Rocket disclosed to his brother as he exited the compound._

_Ranger, barely a three year old adult- in raccoon years- smirked, ruffling the fur on his head. "Then Calculus is going to be a bloody nightmare for ya."_

_Rocket groaned. "Don't remind me. The questions are easy… but this subject is boring as heck. I won't even use this stuff! I'm a guard, not a dang technology freak!"_

_"__But you are a geek," Ranger stated. _

_"__Am not! All A's don't mean I'm a nerd!" Rocket protested, throwing up his arms, glaring at Ranger._

_He rolled his eyes. "Yeah. All hundreds obviously means you're a dork." Ranger grabbed his younger sibling by the scruff and flicked his ear with his finger. _

_Rocket recoiled and yelped, continuing to glare even more at him. "Yo! Damn you! Stop doin' that!" He exclaimed with a huff, rubbing his flicked ear._

_"__Make me little boy."_

_"__See me then," Rocket countered, playfully punching Ranger in the side softly. "That's why you ain't doing' nothin' 'bout it." He taunted._

_Promptly, Ranger turned and grabbed Rocket with both hands and began to flip him upside with little to no effort. The younger raccoon yelled and stopped his brother from dropping him onto his head by using both hands to keep his head just above the concrete. _

_"__Yo, yo!" Rocket shouted, struggling to keep his arms straight to stop his head from hitting the concrete. "Chill out, bro, I was just kidding!"_

_"__Not doing what?" Ranger challenged, grinning. "I'm not doing anything about what?"_

_"__I was just kidding!" Rocket protested, grunting with struggle._

_The older mammal snickered. "Says the one who can't take a sodding joke." _

_"__Shut up!" Rocket growled, "let me go, you piece of shi-"_

_"__Let you go?" Ranger interrupted, laughing, "sure thing lil' brother."_

_Suddenly, he jerked Rocket over to the side…. Hanging him over the edge of the concrete wall by both legs. If he dropped him, he'd fall right between the gap of the electric fence and the wall. With no chance of getting back up._

_"__YO!" Rocket cried out loud, his arms flailing for the edge of the wall. His vision began to experience vertigo at seeing how high he was from the ground. "Dude, put me back on the wall!"_

_"__I'm a piece of what?" Ranger snapped, allowing one of his legs to drop limp, making Rocket's fur prickle with fear. "Say it again. I dare you."_

_Rocket clenched his teeth at the sight of the ground and tried to angle his head in Ranger's direction, his face swarmed with fear. "I'm not joking Ranger, put me down! This isn't funny!" He declared, swaying limply in the air._

_"__I think it is." Ranger grinned. "Say it again. I'm a piece of what?" He demanded, creasing his eyebrows crossly._

_Sighing, the raccoon then shouted, "O- okay, I'm sorry! Put me down, please! I won't say it again!" He whined._

_With a hard swing, Ranger harshly dropped Rocket back onto the concrete wall once more. _

_"__Next time you wanna call people names, you'd better be willing to back up those threats."_

_Sitting up with a light groan, Rocket rubbed the back of his head and scoffed in his brother's direction, sitting up from the ground. He could be a real nuisance sometimes…. even if he was cool once in a while._

_"__Did the boss tell ya what he wants?"_

_Rocket shrugged. "Just a patrol sweep of the area. He wasn't specific."_

_"__He never is," Ranger remarked, sitting down on the edge of the wall. "Frankly, I'd like ta' see a day we actually get paid or somethin'. For once."_

_Rocket scoffed. "Well, at least he bothers to take care of us. He is kind of like our dad…."_

_Ranger directed a pointed look at Rocket, as if offended, and narrowed his eyes again. "You really believe that?"_

_Swaying his tail steadying, the younger raccoon glanced his way again, his own sight filled with doubt at hearing his brother's voice. "And you don't?" he countered, crossing his arms._

_With a snicker, Ranger rolled his eyes. "Rocket, have you been paying any attention in Health lately? You know how mammals are made. The stick goes in the hole. For us, it's one furry thing has the hole, and the other has the stick." He made a 'hole' for emphasis with one paw, and stuck his pointer finger inside the hole. "And then, the girl with the hole-"_

_Rocket scrunched up his face. "Okay, okay, I get it! They get it on, I know what you mean, I'm not a damned idiot!" he waved his arms, "you're point?"_

_"__The point I'm making, lil' brother, is that we weren't created by some hummie and a furry thing. That ain't possible, 'cause we ain't some half-breed freak experiment We pure fur and bone, and that's it. If we were a cross of human and furry freak, don't you think we would've noticed some sort of human gene built into us by now?" He pointed out. "I mean, just use your head a sec."_

_"__So you're saying the boss lied to us? You're saying the one guy who's actually bothered to give a crap about us has been telling lies this whole time?" Rocket asked. "He's our dad."_

_"__He __**says, **__he's our father," Ranger corrected, "that doesn't make the bugga' our father automatically. And I ain't sayin' everything he's been doing has been a buncha' dishonesties and all. What I'm tryin' ta' explain is that we need to contemplate if what he's been telling us isn't a pile of B.S."_

_Rocket shrugged. "He could've just adopted us or something. You heard him say it himself. He wasn't out 'genetic' father."_

_"__Whatever that means," Ranger pressed, "you can't say you haven't questioned something he's told you to do at least once. I know I have."_

_"__Well duh, you're the rebellious one."_

_Ranger shrugged. "For good reason." He shuffled closer to Rocket. "I've always gone by one simple quote, and I want you to remember this too: 'Ain't no thing like me 'cept me.' Say it."_

_"__Ain't no thing like me, 'cept me," Rocket pronounced exactly as he had. _

_He smiled in reply to Rocket's repetition of his quote. "Dang right. Remember that. There's only two of us right now in this galaxy. No one else. We're unique. No other furry thing that can make another one of us. We need to make use of ourselves while we're the last of our kind."_

_"__And if there's a female around?"_

_Ranger laughed. "Well… aim for the hole, and the rest will follow, let's just say." He draped his arm around Rocket's head and over his shoulders, pressing him close to his own shoulder, grinning suggestively._

_Rocket sighed. "Ain't no thing like me, except for my dumbass big bro," he says with a slowly forming smile, earning a light punch from Ranger._

* * *

_Ain't no thing like me, 'cept me._

Rocket awakened to hearing what he'd assumed to be his personal motto. Only, it wasn't. It was Ranger's motto.

Water dipped. A cold feeling uncomfortably prickled the bottom of Rocket's chest fur, all the way down to his bare skin. It didn't feel like a fluid of some sort, so liquid was out of the question. It had to be a solid of some sort he was against. Clearly, the properties of it led to the obvious answer: Metal, again.

When Rocket blinked, he remembered waking up in this exact position, at the penthouse he'd fought Maverick in. Sore, muscles aching and all, his head feeling dizzy, and his thoughts swirling in different directions. The pain was no mistake. A definite sore feeling throughout Rocket's body made him groan. He recalled the electricity that had coursed directly into his small frame, moments before he'd lost consciousness. Sam had tried to fight back with the others. Peter was dead. Lylla was…. somewhere. Grimlock and Astroliopa, he didn't even want to remotely envision.

First things first, Rocket felt, he had to find out where he was. Finding his friends could be next.

_Containment Cell, _was his first thought. He sat up, and his assumption was proved correct. A single toilet built into the back wall was centered in the middle of the room. Just like before, the whole room was that same depressing blue steel color. Above him, the small area where Ranger had once been contained was present, the restraints, intimidatingly perfectly still and wide open, as if inviting a new victim to trap and contain.

The glass which Rocket could only see his reflection in. Except, he knew they could be watching him through the other end. The glass in prisons was like that. One-sided. You'd think all you see is a mirrored image of yourself, but from the guards' view, they could see everything you do. With or without cameras.

He looked around, trying to stay calm to survey the room. Luckily for him, they hadn't bothered to replace his clothing. He was able to keep his vest, but any sort of tools, weapons, or even pins, were removed. Grimlock knew him well. With even the smallest tool, Rocket could make use of it in a prison escape. Smart machine, he supposed.

Gradually, his eyes were drawn to a lone, small figure, facing away from where he'd just lay a few seconds ago. She sat upright on her knees, with her paws on both of them, staring straight down at the blue steel ground. Even as Rocket looked to see her expression, he saw no sign of happiness now that the female had seen him. Not even as sign of acknowledgement that he was actually awake.

"Sam?" Rocket tried, crouching down beside her. He didn't try to get closer for fear that something would happen. He quietly pondered what to say, and how to say it, his tail swaying freely. Clearly, his words that he'd exchanged with Lylla had not gone unnoticed by Sam. Every word had been intently perceived.

She didn't move. Sam stared in the same spot, solid as could be. It was silent enough that he could hear her breathing in through her nose once in a while. There was no emotion whatsoever in her gaze. Getting on his knees, Rocket kept a distance of a few feet from her, but bent his head lower to look at her face, cautiously taking note of how far he advanced.

"Sam?" he attempted for the second time. "I…" Rocket found himself at a loss for words. "I'm not sure what you want me to tell you." He admitted sheepishly, his ears faltering, and his eyes turning closed briefly.

Sam blinked. Her blue centers gazed up in Rocket's direction, but her expression didn't change any further.

"I still care about you," Rocket insisted, "And I wasn't lyin' when I said it would be me over you. It's just-" Again, he paused, unsure of how else to say this. She knew the next name he was intending to say.

Lifting her head, Sam finally looked into his eyes. Rocket didn't turn away, even as her mouth twitched so speak. She silently parted her lips, not appearing angry or sad in any way, but inside, he knew she felt something.

"Her. I know. Lylla," she responded bluntly. "Grimlock told me all about it while you were out. Then he tossed me in here."

"I didn't know she _existed, _Sam," Rocket pressed, "for two years, I've gone believing I've never been with a girl. I had no idea Lylla was in this world."

"Shut up," Sam suddenly murmured sharply, "just shut up! Rocket, I just want the truth for once. Do you love me?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing furiously.

"What do you think? Of course I do!" Rocket exclaimed.

Sam nodded, her eyes still fiery with emotions. "And Lylla?"

"No."

Sam shifted her weight, and Rocket felt a sharp sensation rip through the side of his cheek. She'd slapped him with her claw. He recoiled, his surprised eyes widening at her assault, but he only went to rub the claw marks on his cheek.

"I said _the damn truth," _Sam ordered. "For the second time, do you love her, or not?"

Rocket gulped. He felt his heart pounding again, and his fur sweating. "Y- yes."

Hearing him say this, she examined him carefully, as if studying an animal in its natural habitat. Rocket awaited another slap from her, but she didn't try to move another muscle until she was finished looking. "That's all I needed to know," she responded, her eyes still remaining the same, but her tone becoming calmer.

"I still love you, Sam."

"You can't say that. You can't love two people Rocket, it doesn't work like that," Sam insisted. "It's one or the other."

"You can't expect me to make that choice. But I said I would choose you over me, and I'm not going to lie about that bit."

Sam snickered. "You also said I was the only girl who mattered to you. Looks like that was a lie."

"I never knew she was there Sam! How could I be lying to you if I didn't know she damn existed? It's not fair to me!" He reasoned.

"So you're saying you love her more than me now?" Sam harshly concluded. "Is that it?"

Rocket shook his head. "I didn't say that. I love you!"

"It's a little late for that now, don't you think?" The female countered, crossing her arms, standing up. "If you love Lylla too, I can't say it back. You say you love her. I saw it in your face. You meant it, when you said it to her. No hesitation." She glared at him. "And you hesitated plenty of times before you could finally say it to me. What does that tell you?"

"I thought it was new to me! I thought I've never felt that way before, it was a new thing Sam! Of course I hesitated! I ain't never felt that way around _anyone_ like you before!" Rocket protested outloud, his eyes growing heavy, "if anything, you were the one I loved the most!"

"That's a load of B.S and you know it," she declared. "You said to Lylla that you were in _love, _in love with **_her_** ass. The way you looked at that girl, I know it was true. Ever since Halfworld you were in love, ever since I saw you when I was a teenager I knew-"

Rocket listened intently, and he watched her mouth gap briefly in a pause. _She said she'd lost her memory. How does she know about Halfworld? _"Wait- did you just say Half-"

"It doesn't matter!" She interrupted, eyes darting briefly, "not anymore. What happened three years ago isn't important."

"Sam-"

"No damn it!" Sam snapped, "I've heard enough already. You said you loved her. That's all I needed to hear." She began to step away from him. Her eyes burned with the same fire that Lylla's eyes held hours ago, burned with hatred and whatever anger emotion could possibly exist. She flicked an ear at him out of annoyance, and her tail did the famous wasp swat at the air. Her mouth curled into a snarl, her teeth barely being hidden by her bottom lip, causing the now dirtied fur around her face to stand out much like a porcupine's.

Rocket parted his lips, clenched his fists. He began to breathe slowly, in and out, trying his best to take in what he was hearing. "So that's it?"

Sam released her snarl and relaxed her fur, but continued deadpanning him with her glare of hatred. "Yes, Rocket. We're done. Forever."

Just hearing the words alone was enough to make Rocket's stomach hurtle over a cliff. He'd been punched. Not physically, but verbally, and emotionally. It was a constant roller coaster, worse than the one he'd experienced when Maverick had punched him, and it rode up and down around his heart. Over and over again, he remembered the words, even as Sam walked away and sat back down on the floor away from him.

Six days of knowing each other. Six days of learning to _love _each other, to live with each other, to know each other. Wasted, lost, forgotten, all in five simple words spoken by Sam. He'd invested all of his emotions into loving Sam, admiring her, protecting her, and preparing to do anything to keep her safe. Now she was rejecting him. In doing so, a painful revelation was revealed. Rocket couldn't choose between Sam or Lylla. It wasn't possible.

Someone began clapping. A door opened even before that. Again, and again, and again, someone clapped. A deep chuckling sounded, followed by steady footsteps banging against the metal progressively. "Bravo, bravo indeed," Grimlock praised. He stopped, cocking his head to the side at both raccoons. Neither paid attention to him. "Oh, um, am I interrupting a crucial moment between you both?" He said with a laugh, "my apologizes. I just figured you'd both wish to know my most recent discovery."

Rocket looked up at the machine, sick of seeing his little 'out of nowhere' moments, and not even surprised that he'd come at a time like this. He laughed. "Ah…. you came here to finish the job- partner?"

"Not necessarily, unfortunately. Astroliopa insists you stay alive," he informed him.

"Came here to rub in my face that I just go rejected?" Rocket scoffed. "Go ahead. I don't care at this point. Once I get out, I'll kill you and you're boss, and I'll be fine and dandy."

"Your relationship feud was to be an intended variable, JP293," Grimlock explained, walking around Rocket and Sam. "However, what we discovered next was not an intended variable."

Rocket smirked. "Then you should plan things out better next time."

"I don't think you would classify this as a joking matter, subject. Considering it has something to do with both you and Miss Sam's future."

Deciding he may as well get this over with, Rocket shrugged, pretending to look interested. "Alright. Try me," he sarcastically responded.

"You're systems were altered, at a specific point. To a degree where my master and I believed it would not be possible for you to reproduce, as most mammals like yourself are able to do. The many machine-like modifications we gave you were to be balanced with parts that made you a raccoon. However, it was not realized at the time that we'd unfortunately interrupted the production of the substance that allowed you to reproduce. Therefore, we concluded you couldn't do such a thing."

Rocket's interest piqued at hearing him mention this other R-word he didn't hear often. He knew what it meant very well. Why Grimlock was mentioning this, he wasn't sure, but it was beginning to worry him.

Grimlock continued. "However, when you and your partner were intimate, we found that was not the case. Later, after you both arrived, we examined dear Sam and discovered a very peculiar anomaly in her reproductive system recently. A new embryo has recently been fertilized within her..." he looked to Rocket. "And it appears the fertilizer's DNA has your name imprinted on it."

"What do you mean?" Rocket's ears prickled, and he almost thought what he thought he was referring to… except it couldn't have been true. "Wait- are you saying that Sam is…." He strayed from that one word, not wanting to say it outloud.

Sam gapped her mouth and looked in Rocket's direction, then at Grimlock. "What the hell are you talking about?" She demanded from Grimlock.

Grimlock's red eyes glittered with amusement. "Unfortunately, yes, Rocket." He turned to Sam and chuckled. "Congrats. It appears in about a month, you will be the one to bear Rocket Raccoon's children." He glanced back to Rocket, who was now standing without breathing.

"And our favorite subject….. is going to be a father."


	28. Father's Day

**A/N See what I did there with the chapter title? :P Multiple meanings. Anyhow don't expect a really big action chapter for this one. It's more of an explanation short one. But don't worry. I'm sure I'll make up for lost time with a bit of upcoming suspense next chapter... followed by the concluding action.**

**Beware... big paragraphs of dialogue comin' at you.**

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**Chapter 28: Father's Day**

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So many things had happened today that stunned Rocket. Some were more shocking than others…. but this was perhaps the most startling surprise of them all.

Rocket Raccoon was going to be a _father. _Generally, you'd expect happiness. A swirl of joy which clouds the mind. Maybe even a shout of delight to the world, saying something along the lines of, 'I am going to be a father!' You'd think of all the good things that would come. You would get to raise a new lifeform that had just been brought into this world, and be able to say that you helped create this good kid.

In this raccoon's mind, he was thinking the opposite of those cheerful reactions. It didn't sit right with him. Sam… pregnant? Rocket, a father?

_I couldn't be….. it's not possible. _Rocket's concentration dashed in different directions. He didn't have the right words to properly reply to Grimlock. _I am nowhere close to the definition of a dad….. I- I- I'm a criminal! I'm not kid property! I'm don't even know what kids like, I don't know how to change their diapers, I don't know how to cook- heck, I don't even know how ta' be a dad period! Me and Sam probably aren't even going to work out! I could leave the kid, I mean, it's Sam's…. but I can't! I'm the reason the little dude- or girl, is about to exist! They wouldn't have a dad! Well, why do I care? Because I do!_

He couldn't believe that _this _of all things was what he was stressing over. A minute ago, he was greatly depressed by Sam's decision to reject him. He didn't care about anything else…. until Grimlock had told him about _this. _

_Oh god…. This is the last thing I need. _Rocket didn't bother saying anything. He cringed up and shook his head multiple times, not listening to Grimlock's current speech. He turned around, walking to the glass that reflected Rocket's image, and removed his hands from his face.

He looked back at his own self, the raccoon that was about to be a father, and blinked, still cringing his face out of horror. His eyes were wide with alarm, occasionally blinking, as if pondering what he had heard.

What had he done?

* * *

"I still don't understand!" Peter exclaimed, "how? After all these years, you were still there? My _dad, _was still alive?"

His newfound father smiled delicately, and gave a nod, combined with a bow. "I may not have gotten to you in the best of times, but yes, I am alive." He chuckled, scratching around his beard, then the back of his dark black hair, his cheeks puffing out slightly due to the hair on them. "I should've anticipated Yondu screwing with the-" he cleared his throat, "delivery. He really has a tendency to create that hate and love vibe about 'em, the old idiot."

Peter couldn't help but chuckle in the same way his dad had, and smirked at the memory of Yondu. "Thank god I'm not the only one. That guy was a jerk." He relaxed his smile a bit more. "Even if he was the one who really taught me what I know now."

The man laughed, his cheeks dimpling in the process, creating a jolly look on him. "Ah, an insolent fool he is. But he's also one of the closest friends I've ever had in my life. Saved my neck more times than I can recall… and believe me, I've recalled plenty of years."

"Yeah." He stopped to look around the room again. "So…. what, you've been stuck in this place for thirty-two years?" Peter remarked smugly.

Again, he received a laugh. "Indeed. But you'd be surprised to see how large the compound actually is. It's one of my greatest achievements yet. Connects entryways from over hundreds of different planets, twenty diverse galaxies, and five superclusters… directly to here."

"Compound? What do you even do here?" Peter sat down on his bed again, clasping his hands together attentively.

"Studying. Experimenting. Watching. Learning." The man shrugged, managing a smile. "Being bored."

"So you're a scientist then?" The half-terran smirked.

"You could say that I suppose. I'm a man of many trades, Pete. You just have to have lived long enough to learn them."

He examined his father. The man certainly didn't look any older than forty… which seemed impossible. If he were terran, he'd have to at least have some sort of grey hair by now, since he was Peter's actual birth father. What seemed the most peculiar prospect at the time was that he positively did appear terran, yet his appearance didn't match with his age range.

His mother had described his father just like this. The exact details matched him now. It seemed unmanageable that Peter's father looked the same as he had thirty-two years ago, when he was born. "And how long have you lived?"

Holding a smile, Peter's father replied, "long enough that I've experienced more than one generation let's just say."

Peter nodded in acknowledgement, but sighed, especially as another memory plagued his mind. A more recent one, which had gotten sidetracked while speaking to his father about Yondu. "Dad…." He hesitated, sighing again, pressing his lips together tightly, and shaking his head a bit with closed eyes. Inside, he tried to process how to ask the question, until he let it out. "Why wait all this time just to see me? Couldn't you have just talked to Yondu... contacted me, com'ed me, sent a postcard…. anything?"

Regarding Peter's question, his father temporarily closed the lids of his eyes, as if in thought, and sniffed, rubbing his scruffy chin with his hand. He scratched his nose in the process and addressed his son with his gaze once more. "It's not that simple Pete," he specified tranquilly, blinking at him steadily, sitting down on the leather recliner that bordered Peter's previous resting place. Peter watched him place his chin on his hands, and saw him glance back up at him with watchful awareness. "I couldn't." The man shook his head. "I realized it was wrong. I knew what Yondu did wasn't what I intended... and yet I let it happen. At first, my reaction when I saw he didn't plan to bring you to me was to get you out. Get you as far from those ravagers as I could. Maybe just talk it over with Yondu, one on one."

Peter shrugged, crossing his arms. "So why didn't you?" The human leaned against the side of the metal wall, but kept his attention toward his father.

"He taught you more than I could," he responded, "even with how much I know…. how much I've experienced, and gone through, I realized early into his capture of you that he could teach you lessons that I know I could never could." He pursued his lips together and gave his eyebrows a slight raise, cocked his head the side for second. "Then again, that doesn't mean I agree with the way he taught you necessarily. But Yondu's little explicit way of learning has served a valuable purpose…." He smiled at Peter gently, "creating who you are now, Pete. And for that, I'll always be thankful for his help."

"What about mom?" Peter blurted out, changing the subject briefly, "Was leaving her behind with me the best decision too?" He demanded softly, "was leaving your _son_ without a dad the best decision?"

His father's eyes appeared to look out into the distance at mention of her. "Your mother, Pete….." he trailed off, "_Meredith,"_ he clarified with a shaky sigh, "was one of a kind. Truthfully, I've never been with any woman quite like her. She was beautiful. The only one I cherished at the time. Different. When I discovered you were coming into the world I- I was overjoyed. I saw you when you were first born. Weighed fifteen pounds, clocked in at March twenty-ninth, nine AM." As if history unfolded, he paused with a chuckle and continued, "But a few months after you were born, I saw my mistake. While Meredith was in the back, cutting up food for supper, several gentlemen in these dark suits came to the house. I was trying to be useful while she was busy. Replacing an old light bulb in your crib, the one you always liked. That's when they came. Knocked on the door." He sighed and rubbed his chin. "Most people would consider a disturbance like that to be advertisers, as you call them, house to house salesmen. But I knew better. Those men outside in those suits were not there to sell anything. It was me they wanted. I stay with Meredith for almost a year, thinking I don't have anything to worry about. Believing for a foolish moment that coming back to Terra after decades, and decades, would still be the same for me. Of course, I was too arrogant to see the truth, until it was too late. I made enemies, Pete, lots of enemies after I left Terra, plenty of adversaries that were well worth my match at the time."

"They followed you to Terra," Peter concluded, carefully listening to his story.

With a peculiar glint in his eyes, his father nodded. "They knew I was there. Tracked me back to Terra. They couldn't kill me, since they weren't aware how to do so. But there was one thing they could do to hurt me. End what I hold dear to me." He eyed Peter. "Which was you and your mother, at the time. I didn't bother to get the door. I told Meredith to go hide with you, but by then, they'd already gotten through the door. I warned them to leave. To back off. They knew what I was capable of. Twice in a row…. I gave them my counsel. But then they went for Meredith, and I had no choice. Eight of them came. Eight of them disappeared. And Meredith….. she saw what I was. She knew, that I didn't belong on that planet." He shook his head again, wiping away the small amount of sweat that appeared on his forehead, moving a small part of his black hair aside. "I knew I couldn't stay after I saw that look on her face that day."

Bearing a foreign gaze in his eyes, Peter exhaled once he'd paused. "Mom…. said you were such a great guy. An angel. She never said what happened to you." The young man settled himself, placing elbows on his knees, allowing him to put his chin into the palms of his hands. "On Xandar, I found out during my medical exam that I wasn't fully terran," he explained, eying the man carefully, "I thought it just might've been a glitch. But when they said that was the reason I survived the Infinity Stone, it made sense. Then I remembered what mom said about you…. and I started to wonder: Dad, what are you?"

"_Who I am, _is a name that I don't prefer to go by," his father began, "but my Earth name was much simpler…. Well, my twenty-first century name. I had hundreds of other identities I went by over the centuries. But in this century, I used a very common name for a male. John Knapp, but it became _Quill, _pretty quickly, as you can imagine," he chuckled, "but _who John Quill is _and _what John Quill is _are two completely different things Pete. What I am, is _not _terran. What I am is a race that rarely exists in this universe anymore. I have a life-expectancy that I guarantee any creature in this galaxy would kill for. I've been alive for seven centuries, on Earth. I've seen a lot of things that most folks would've wanted to see… the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, the Scientific Age… and I've meet hundreds of brilliant people in my life, and I will just say that some of the things I've personally witnessed could change what Earth's history books say about each of those individuals." He looked to Peter. "And my true form would…. blind you. Contrary to most peoples' beliefs, I have many more shapes I can take beyond a simple human. The Human is just the default shape I choose to take… the most interesting. Other mammals on Earth I've tried before, other forms were creatures I've encountered throughout the universe."

"So you're a shapeshifter…. or a vampire thing?" Peter asked.

"You could call me that, minus the fangs," his father, 'John', replied. "But I am a term that many have adapted to using over time. The people in Egypt liked to refer to me as simply, 'Farisada,' which was a word in old Arabic that meant 'Immortal.' They saw my kind as a king, in the thirteen hundreds. But as always, rebellion takes hold of claimed land…. And soon, three became one. I was the only 'one' left. As humans became smarter and more civilized, I gradually began to blend in with my surroundings. I learned. I experienced. By today, I know fifty different languages, and I've visited every country on four different continents on Earth. My struggle was making myself a new identity, especially as DNA testing and other methods were used to find out how humans aged. But they could never catch me. I had other forms I could easily take on to appear different. While I enjoyed the prospect of being human, I learned how other animals around Earth worked. How they acted. How they thought. Their habits. And with all of this knowledge, I became wiser."

Peter stopped him with a raised hand. "Whoa- whoa- wait- hold on. So you're saying… you live _forever? _You don't die, or age, or anything like that?"

"Hypothetically, yes…. but there is a way to kill me. But it's difficult."

He ignored that last bit. "So…. if you're immortal, and I'm you're son, does that mean I-" Peter hesitated, reluctant to finish his thought.

John shook his head. "You're thinking too much. Not necessarily, Peter. You have some genes from me. This means you actually age only half the years you think you are aging. When you've aged five years, you really only age two and a half, for instance. Outside, you're body ages, but on the inside, it doesn't feel as physically impaired. If you're one hundred, you're body feels like it's fifty, When you're thirty-two, Pete…. you still have the strength you did when you were sixteen, although you may not look it," he explained. "Only, the difference is, you don't quite have the ability to change forms yet. You haven't practiced…. Or learned it." He smiled mysteriously. "It might seem sudden, Pete, all this, but think about it. This place I live in, it's a new beginning for you. A chance to learn. A chance to catch up with your old man. A chance to learn who you are."

Peter nodded. "I understand. But I have to know where my friends are. Did you see any of them while you were helping me? A couple raccoons, a green skinned alien….. a tree, a big red guy? Any of them?"

With what seemed to be sadness, he shook his head in reply to Peter. "No. But I guarantee they are safe."

"What about the Infinity Stone? Do you know anything about it? Do you know where it is? Dad, I just need-"

"Peter," John calmly rose a hand as his son had done before, raising his voice a little, before smiling gently, "you're questions are right to be asked, but you need to pace yourself. You must be hungry. Come, let's talk over a meal. I assure you, my bots can cook up a very mean batch of pancakes."

Even though he did want to know more about this place…. and about this 'John' character, who really did seem to be his father, and about his friends, Peter wasn't about to deny the famishing feeling in his stomach any longer. Giving in, he willingly followed.


	29. Parasite

**A/N Chapter gives a start for the action to come... enjoy. ;) This story's coming to an end. Really hate to say it, but it is. Almost a year and a half, and it's coming to a close.**

**Be sure to R&amp;R! I'd love to hear thoughts with how close we are to the end!**

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**Chapter 29: Parasite**

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Upon beginning their feast of breakfast, Peter had already begun to remember a flurry of familiar human terms. Pancakes, orange juice, scrambled eggs, bacon…. sausage. The names of those various foods dawned on him as if he'd just been placed into a new country. He could never remember how the sweet flavor of orange juice felt on his tongue. How bacon strips would make your hands feel greasy, while syrup from the pancakes would make your fingers sticky. It felt implausible to Peter that he couldn't recall these things. _Mom made the best pancakes…. How did I ever forget?_

Contemplation was not a factor in discouraging Peter's appetite however. He still enjoyed the foods that he'd yet to taste again. Across from where he sat, his father contently munched on the remainder of a dark red apple.

Peter exhaled through his nostrils, his eyes rolling with satisfaction. "This-" he munched on a piece of pancake- "is- awuhsom," he mumbled, finally allowing it to go down his throat. "I swear, you made this just like my mom used to." He addressed his father.

John shrugged, raising his eyebrows with a gentle smile. "Even with over seven centuries on my belt, I've never had as good pancakes as hers," he admitted, "Then again, they were fairly new during the 20th century, not really introduced in the 19th. Meredith always had that magic touch when it came to the topic of culinary though."

Still picking off the last of his fried egg bits and pancakes, he sucked the few of his fingers that were sticky from the syrup that decorated his plate, the sweet flavor a graceful feeling to his tongue. Peter placed his silverware down onto his plate and rubbed his chin and mouth area with a napkin. His eyes went to his father as he rolled the napkin into a ball and placed it onto the now cleared plate. "So… what exactly do you know about the past?"

"Well…" John glanced at him wearily, chuckled, then shrugged again. "I can tell you that Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army during the Civil War did indeed suffer from a case of a modern day heart condition. I can also tell you that in the 1400s, Christopher Columbus was _not _the first one to discover modern day America, so the United States' Columbus Day has been considered a false holiday this whole time. I can tell you that Albert Einstein had conditions during his divorce that he did not intend to make known to the public, and that he was indeed visited by beings that were not of Earth. I can tell you that the theory behind Area 51 is true. The government is and has been keeping alien technology stored behind closed doors for nearly 7 whole decades, up to now. I can tell you for a fact that President Thomas Jefferson was a confirmed womanizer, and that I witnessed him speaking to and exchanging affection with four different women. The pyramids were made with the help of my race. The Egyptians were _not _the only builders there that created them. The creation of the Blackbird aircraft was made possible by my work, but I was not guaranteed the patent for the product, and the U.S government gave the credit to another man, claiming I only 'helped.'"

Peter wolf-whistled. "Sheesh dad, tell me the history our planet while we're at it," he contended with a hit of sarcasm in his voice.

"If you insist…."

He deadpanned his father. "I wasn't serious."

"I know." John smiled. "I have a sense of humor too Pete. Just because I'm not human doesn't mean I don't retain the qualities of one."

"You act like it though. What's your definite form?"

John's mouth tensed, and he clenched his teeth, biting his lip tenderly. "It's not something that's very healthy for human eyes to experience." He scanned Peter up and down as if studying him. "You on the other hand, are capable of handling it, since you are half of my species. However, it's not something I like to convert to in public, so at the moment, I won't show you."

"Wait- so if your form doesn't affect me, does that explain why the orb didn't affect me back on Xandar?" Peter inquired pointedly. "I know it's because of my species, but just- _why are _the Farisada not- you know, hurt by it? Why them?"

He breathed in calmly. "Yes, it is your species. The Xandarians were correct. But the reason why lies in our heritage. As I'm sure you've discovered from the Collector…. There are six stones in total. Soul, Time, Space, Reality, Mind, and Power. All were wielded by a group of unstoppable individuals who attempted to harness the stones' power all together… but they could not and were destroyed. Those who managed to survive its after-effects became genetically different. Abominations, some might call them, or mistakes, or corrupt beings. But nevertheless, we were all the same. That's where the Farisada were created, hundreds, maybe even thousands of years ago. From there, our new form was produced. We turned into our own race. Became what some would call keepers of the Infinity Stones. They could no longer hurt us. The stones' abilities have no effects on us. Nor do the common attacks of this universe."

"So the effects of the Stones are in our bloodline?"

"When you put it that way, I suppose that's how you could refer to it," John agreed with a mutual nod. "But I wasn't one of the first. I was born to two 'human' Farisada, over seven hundred years ago. I thought of myself as a human until I discovered the truth as a young child. From there I began to use my gifts to survive. And you know how the rest of my story goes."

"And where does Thanos come into this? Do you know anything about him?" Peter pressed. He was becoming intrigued by this conversation, although it bothered him even more knowing that his 'dad' seemed to know exactly where he'd been for the past thirty or so years.

John nodded again. "He's stubborn. Stubborn, yes, but a very strong titan to be reckoned with. Not someone I would like to go against in combat. And he desires to obtain the Infinity Stones, I can infer that much. That's why my race wants to stop him."

Peter turned his head to him. "And do you?"

"Me?" He replied, and Peter nodded. "Of course I don't agree with what he intends to do. But I'm unlike other Farisida. I'm not set on stopping him. I'm…. independent, you could call it. What I've established here Peter, is something you couldn't even begin to comprehend. A save haven. A place of research. I've accomplished much here in my home. And I hope to do far more for the impending days that are to come. Thanos isn't an attack on my hopes. He's only an obstacle, one that I do not need to address or deal with. He's a very minimal threat since he hasn't obtained any of the stones yet."

"Yeah, well that'll change since Grimlock has them…." Peter murmured, "well, it's only one, but still. That thing was pretty bad."

"I'm sure we'll get the orb."

"You say that you like you know it. He's probably miles from here, dad. You don't even know who Grimlock is. He's a mercenary, a _damn tank. _He knows who my friends are… knows all about where I've been…. god, I don't even want to remember what else he knows. But to cut this short, he has the orb. And chances are, he's either an agent of Thanos, or he's someone working for another organization that plans to abuse the orb."

John rose an eyebrow. "That's why you and your friends were here, correct?"

"Yeah. The coordinates led us here because Rocket figured the orb was on this planet."

"How'd he figure that?"

Peter shrugged. "Beats me. He's memory's coming back it sounds like. It's been like that for him for a while now, beats and pieces. Tivan told us about someone named Astroliopa, who seemed to be the 'Master' of Rocket, and that assassin I just told you about. Rocket had a vision later, I guess, about escaping Barraka. That's how we ended up coming here. We thought that was where we'd get to Astroliopa. Get the orb, stop Grimlock." He sighed and laughed to himself falsely. "And to be honest, it's been the craziest mission. The first where we've actually gone by gut instinct, and nothing but random brain flashbacks."

"Hmm." John nodded. "Wait- how did you know about Barraka?"

"A prisoner that Tivan told us about on Xandar. Guess he used to work for Astroliopa, but then got turned to the streets by him. He was mentally in hell, to put it nicely. Rocket only got numbers out of him, before someone managed to kill the prisoner before we could get anything else. The numbers ended up being coordinates," Peter explained, "and that's how we got to Barraka."

"I see."

Peter frowned. He was beginning to realize something, but again, it only resulted in him feeling perplexed when he tried to fully understand his idea. "Hold on-" He stated, not bothering to explain anymore, "if we were brought here because the orb, Grimlock, and Astroliopa should be here, then…." He looked to who he _thought _was his father, and his eyes widened. "Are you him?"

"Who?"

"You know who I mean….I swear, Rocket described him just like you! Astroliopa!" Peter suddenly exclaimed, standing up from his seat. _Beard….gentle smile, brown eyes…. and the voice…. god… Rocket would know it better than me- but still, it sounds like how he said it sounded. _He became guarded within his facial features and shot a hostile glance at John. He didn't have any weapons, but that didn't stop him from showing how skeptical he felt at the moment, not to mention angry.

John stood at the same time he had, but didn't bother to take any further moves. He brought his hands up slowly. "Now Pete…. If I were Astroliopa, don't you think I would've killed you by now? Don't you think I would've shown you I had the orb by now, and that this 'Grimlock' character would be standing over you when you wake up? And do you really think he'd give you such a welcome like this into his own home?" He stared at the Terran sincerely, head lowered at an angle to where his eyes were the only feature on his face visible. It was similar to that of a look a stern father would give his son when he would do something wrong.

"If he wanted to trick me. I've heard of the kind of guy he is. I'm not dumb. I know who you are!" Peter pointed at him accusingly, narrowing his eyes, stepping back towards the nearest door. "You're just trying to make me like you…. to make me listen, just so you can butter me up and kill me when you have the chance! Then I bet my friends are next, aren't they? Or are you going to let Grimlock do all of your dirty work just like he's been doing?"

"Peter… calm down. I am not Astroliopa. I do not have the orb," he calmly replied, "you're only stressed about the situation at hand, and-"

"Bull!" Peter declared, "you've been lying ever since I woke up! You're not even my dad! You lied about everything! You made Rocket a machine! You have the orb! You only want to kill the Guardians of the Galaxy, me included! If anything, you're a killer." He wrinkled his nose at him and twitched, stepping again towards the door.

"Peter damn it, I'm your father!" John rose his voice, lowering his eyebrows, scowling at him. Peter didn't move when he said this. John sighed stressfully and continued. "Do you think all of those things I just said about your mother are made up? How easily do you think someone can make up details about a story like that? I wouldn't hurt you. I wouldn't harm your friends in any way. If I did, I'm not so sure I could live with myself or my choices." He began to slow down his tone again, but kept it at a firm level, pressing his lips together tightly and looking at Peter solemnly. "For 31 years, Pete, I've lost you. And while I do admit it is my own fault that I willingly let Yondu have you for almost 20 of those years, don't you dare think that it meant I didn't care about you. I had a hole in my heart without you." He lowered his head. "First Merideth… that beautiful woman. And then you, my son. You were both the biggest reasons I stayed. And stayed I would've, if not for drawing my enemies directly to Earth. The only way I would've kept you both safe is if I were to leave. I was the reason you weren't safe, and if leaving was the only way I could fix It, then I had to do it."

"Why? You could've stayed." Peter scoffed, lowering his guard. He scornfully glanced at him. "Or at least explained the damn thing to my mom without making her a mental case for the first two years of her life. Why, dad? Why didn't you ever stay? Tell her the truth? Or even visit! You had to have found a time! I'm your son!" He rose his voice again, feeling it break. "And she was your wife. You loved my mom, didn't you?"

His father was at a sudden lose for words. He bit his lip. The man's forehead was perspiring. He shifted the jacket that he wore, and walked up to Peter, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Ain't no Mountain High Enough. Hooked on a Feeling," he softly recited, regarding Peter, who's eyes shot up to meet his at the mention of the song titles. "She loved those songs," John stated, "music like that was always her thing." When Peter remained quiet, he continued, "I loved your mother just as she loved her music."

"Blue Swede…" Peter repeated through an exhale of breath, staring ahead at the ground in realization.

He nodded. "That's right." The man smiled and squeezed his shoulder lightly. "I know you've been through a lot Pete. You've gone through so much in your life that you probably don't even notice it at this point. You've made this enormous transition to the man to you are now… and you've made quite a few friends along the way. And now you're worried about them. You're in a position where the whole galaxy could be destroyed, and you feel you have to be the one to fix it. But Peter….." he gazed at him with a relaxed glimmer in his eyes. "I want you to believe me. I _promise, _I am your father, and that is all I will ever be to you. Nothing else. Come home, Pete. Give what could be home a chance for once."

"I-" The Terran lost his train of thought at hearing the man's words. "I _want to, dad, _but it's just too much of a coincidence….. this is supposed to be where we get the orb….. end this thing…" Peter sighed lightly, sitting down again at the metal table, palming his face.

"And maybe it is. But wherever your opponents are now, I cannot say. However, what matters is that you are safe."

Peter shook his head. "But Gamora, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Sam-"

"I understand. They are alive, Peter, believe me when I say this," he assured him. "Unfortunately, going after them now isn't the best course of action. You need to relax, regenerate. You're no good to your friends, arrogantly barging in like that. That's how you get yourself hurt like you did last time."

"You- you're right," Peter reluctantly admitted, huffing and removing his hands from his face. "I just feel useless here. They could die any minute, and I'd live knowing I could've been on my way to save them at any of those minutes." He eyed John with a grave glance. "But I can't do it like this. I'm sorry I blamed you. I guess I am stressed out."

"It's fine. You just need time to-" Something began to beep rapidly. John frowned with uncertainty, and glanced down at his bracer. "What….. that's not possible." He curled his lip and shook his head. "Ranger…." he murmured under his breath darkly.

"What?"

His father ignored him and brought the bracer close to his mouth, pressing a button. "We've got a breach on the west wing, near subject JP293's cell. What's the situation?"

**"****Our little fugitive is out, sir. He's heading JP293's way now with one of our people, and threatens to kill if we you don't come now. Better get here quick!"**

"Get the Warden on it!" John whispered in a quieter tone away from Peter's direction.

**"****He's currently occupied with other matters sir."**

"Damn it…." he cursed, sighing with frustration and turning off the bracer. "Stay here," John ordered, standing from his seat, walking towards the automatic door. "I'll be right back," he stated, gradually picking up speed, and opening the door with a DNA fingerprint scan.

"Who is it?" Peter demanded. "Dad?"

"It's them," John said, "just trust me on this. Stay here."

"Dad!" He bolted toward the door, but it closed right as he tried to go through.

* * *

Rocket hadn't spoken to Sam for several hours. Neither of them bothered to exchange a word, especially after hearing Grimlock's news. He didn't have to talk to Sam to know how she was feeling. The circumstances could speak for themselves.

Emotions were the least of his concerns- or should've been. The threat of dehydration and hunger was starting to set in, and Rocket's stomach was beginning to growl. It growled to the point where it began to hurt and ache, and he felt like puking during certain points where the pain would set in.

Sam's fur was settled after their little quarrel, but her expression was just as dead as it had been the moment they were placed into that room. Occasionally, the female would blink, but otherwise she remained quiet.

"Have you had sex before me?" Sam asked, looking up to Rocket finally. "That you remember?"

Deciding it would be wise to be honest at this point, he nodded slowly, blinked, and attempted to part his dry lips just to speak. "I did it twice with Lylla," he responded. "But I don't know if she's ever been pregnant."

Sam nodded back, breaking eye contact briefly. "Do you think she ever was?"

The question began to irk Rocket's conscious. It was a good inquiry though, and he had to admit, it should've been a possibility he considered after hearing about Sam's pregnancy. They had gone that far, he and Lylla…. but had she really become fertilized in the year's gap between when they first engaged in intercourse? Or had something occurred during the time Lylla may have been pregnant?

"I don't know," Rocket answered dryly. "She looked the same as far as I know…. never saw a fat stomach on her. She never told me anything either, if she was." He sighed again. "What're we going to do, Sam?" He asked.

"We?" She scoffed. "There is no 'we,' Rocket. We already talked about this."

"You don't get to make that decision. I'm the dad, I have a say too!" Rocket stated.

"Because you're obviously father of the year. I'm the mother, my vote overrules yours in a case of legal separation," Sam responded.

He facepalmed. "We can't do this….. you know something has to give Sam. You can't do this on your own. You need me. This kid… or these _kids, _need _us. _Together, not apart. We have to work out."

She glared at him. "After what you just said to me a few hours ago, do you really think that will happen? You've loved Lylla, Rocket. You never did love me to begin with. I was an illusion. If you had your memory, you would've never loved me."

"I didn't know she existed, okay?!" Rocket exclaimed, "what do you want me to say? And I can't choose between-"

"You already did as far as I'm concerned," Sam replied sarcastically.

The door to their room opened before Rocket could continue. Several men walked through the automatic door threshold. They were looking Sam's way. Before she could react, they were dragging her away, but she didn't appear to be putting up much of a fight.

Rocket had much to protest, however. "Hey, hey, hey! Where're you guys taking her?! Hey! Come back! Sam!" He shouted. The guards blocked the door, stopping him from getting any further.

* * *

Lylla began to walk away from Sam's new room, hips swaying lightly for show. She still continued to lightly laugh, her intentions to kill Sam easily seen through the happy expression on her face.

Her joy was momentarily interrupted by the sound of scuttling in the roof above her head. Frowning with irritancy, the otter's ears twitched, and she looked up. "What….."

The sound ceased. She looked back down, and took a step backwards, then forwards again, still examining where she was sure she'd heard the roof move. It began to scuttle lightly again. This time, the noise became more audible further down from Lylla. She frowned ever deeper and walked closer towards the sound of the scraps that were sounding above. Arching her neck upwards, she scratched the brown fur that lie near her spinal column, while looking again at the metal roof.

Nothing moved. Silence.

Lylla began to walk again, her ears raising upwards slightly in attempt to pick up noise. She rose an eyebrow out of suspicion, then narrowed her eyes and quickly turned around. Once she saw no one, she turned around again, then glanced up at the roof.

No noise, no movement, and no signs of life.

Scoffing, she smirked and shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Dumb rats," she stated, before turning to walk away, "note to self: decontamination of west wing's ventilation system..."

"Not rats. Just me." A smug voice stated behind her.

Lylla swung around, bringing her elbow back in attempt to smash it into her opponent's torso. It hit nothing but air, and soon enough, she felt an arm roughly wrap itself around her neck, and the cold metal of something sharp press against the side of her head. She growled and tried to shout out for help, but her mouth was covered by an enormous blackish gray paw.

"Now listen to me darlin'…. you want to keep that host a second longer, you'd better do as I say and kindly shut the hell up," her assailant quietly stated, pressing the sharp tip of the object against the side of her head.

He slowly removed the paw, and almost immediately, Lylla laughed silently to herself, especially as he began to forcefully move them into a side room. "Ah… Ranger. I would remember that voice anywhere, you being the obsessive sexually charged masculine beast you are."

Ranger pressed what Lylla managed to process as an arrow tip further against the side of her head, making her wince, but he didn't move it any further. "I'd like if you didn't say my old medical disorder outloud, since Lylla never gave ya permission to go diggin' thoughts outta' her head in the first place."

"What are you talking about?" She chuckled with a sardonic snort and little giggle. "I am Lylla. I already told you and Rocket that plenty of times. Why else would I remember these things?"

"Because Varsana was the name of that smart-ass parasite that Astroliopa kept as a personal pet. And somehow I don't think Lylla's real name is Varsana. Seems pretty weird that you, 'Lylla' started acting different at the same time Astroliopa would refer to you as Varsana, doesn't it?" He smiled. "I connected the dots. Thanks to a certain smart brother of mine telling me random facts, I _know _what you are and I've seen how you act. Astroliopa says he brainwashed 'Lylla'…. but I think we both know that's a lie….. Varsana. If all he did was manipulate Lylla's mind, I know for a fact Astroliopa wouldn't call her Varsana openly. He'd call her Lylla. He wasn't renaming her." He looked at 'Lylla. "He was talking to you… parasite."

The otter grinned and smiled sadistically at his explanation, and giggled again. "Hmm… well played Ranger. I see your young brother has rubbed off on you in the past with his old intelligence. Too bad you won't see him again," she smirked, "because Grimlock's going to kill him. Then he'll kill you."

"And then what? He'll leave you alive? Do you really think he'll do that?" Ranger scoffed. "Once you've outlived your usefulness, he and the good ol' boss 'll get rid of your parasitic behind for good."

She snarled defensively. "I'm not going anywhere… this one is mine. I think I'll stay." She grinned. "Play around some more with Rocket... honestly, Ranger, you should be glad I at least made Lylla's performance sound honest. I could've been _much _nastier to Rocket…. as much of a sweet thing as he may be."

"Then enjoy your stay, because you're leaving pretty soon. My brother's not exactly thrilled about the idea of his girlfriend being brainwashed… so you're leaving," he declared. "For good."

"You'll have to kill me with her then," she growled at Ranger.

"Not necessarily. I have my ways. I know how to get rid of you without killing your host. You're smart…. A lot smarter than a normal parasite, thanks to Astroliopa, but you're not stupid either. You won't kill your live host because that means you die too. And you don't want to die," he reasoned.

She shrugged, smiling again, even as he kept the tip of the arrow against her head. "Take it how you like. You know how this will end, Ranger. Lylla's mine tell the end."

"I will. And my take is that I'll be drinking a beer when you're dead." He pulled Lylla along, holding an arm tightly against her neck.

"Now….back to business: Call Astroliopa. Tell him I want him at Rocket's cell, or else."

"Or else what?"

Ranger eyed her. He brought up a round metal object in his other hand, making Lylla's eyes widen. "Or everyone in this base will die…. And it won't be pretty." He stated, holding the orb that contained the infinity stone in his palm.


	30. Partner

**Chapter 30: Partner**

* * *

Ranger pressed his arm against Lylla's scruff. "Say one word, and you'll have a mighty hard time speaking," he whispered harshly, leaning back with her against his chest forcefully in attempt to elude potential captors that passed him.

Gaping her mouth slightly, 'Lylla' smiled after he loosened his grip a bit, as if he'd just told a pun. "Do that, and _Lylla_ will have a hard time speaking… if you do get her back that is," she laughed lightly. She gasped again as Ranger put pressure on her throat again, feeling his arrow tip unexpectedly against her head.

"Don't think I'll make the mistake of letting you stay alive. This universe is betta' off without ya parasites, and if you think Lylla will stop me from making that mistake, you have another thing coming to you."

"I think Rocket would have a slighter different opinion with you on that, don't you?" She was grinning now, not eying him exactly, but trying her best to catch even a glimpse of his hopefully grave expression.

The long-haired mammal sighed and softly closed his eyelids for the briefest of seconds, pondering the increasingly dangerous odds of failure in this situation, before shaking his head back to reality. He reclaimed his hold on the possessed Lylla. "Rocket has different opinions about a lot of things. Some people- like my brotha', just need ta' learn that his opinions aren't always the right choice."

"So you'd kill Lylla if it came down to stopping me?"

"If I had no other choice," he said with a shrug. "But I have a choice. So I'm going to get rid of you the non-lethal way."

Lylla rolled her eyes visibly. "Oh please, you and I both know it'll come down to killing me along with Lylla. I don't play the 'stay game' very well. And when it comes to that, you know Rocket will turn on you for sure."

"Then he'll have to learn to understand," Ranger bluntly stated.

"Sounds like you two have some brotherly issues… or had some," she remarked quietly.

"Everyone has issues. Mine is dealing with the lil' slimy, two-inch pain in the ass that's hiding in Lylla right now. That would be you, sweetheart," Ranger coldly responded, nudging her forward. "Move," he ordered.

The otter snorted, but did as he ordered, up until they reached the door that Ranger desired to locate. "Open it," he demanded.

She hesitated visibly, and glanced around. Ranger growled angrily. "Open it. Now," he firmly demanded again.

"I need you to lower me," she requested. Ranger- still grasping her around the neck- lowered Lylla down on her knees, giving her just enough room for her eyes to be adjacent to the retina scan. The little red light next to the scanner turned green, and the door finally slid open.

With the obstacle out of their way, Ranger wadded into the room with a captive 'Lylla' in tow. Inside the rectangular and rather small space, Rocket sat with his legs huddled against his chest, with his arms crossed. He wore the same attire that Ranger had seen him with originally, an orange and black combat vest, and looked the same as before, thank god. However, the other raccoon that Ranger had seem him with didn't look to be around. Whoever she was, her disappearance must not have been a good thing for Rocket to handle, judging from his current expression. Good friend. That was Ranger's guess about that female raccoon.

Rocket's face changed immediately as he turned his head, and soon enough, had the look of a raccoon who'd just seen a ghost. "R- Ranger?!" He stood up straight, tail picking up pace excitedly, but frowned afterwards as he realized who was with him. "What're you doing with Lylla?"

"Oh," Lylla spoke up in a high pitched tone of voice, "save me Rocket! He's trying to kill me-"

Ranger covered her mouth and rolled his eyes. "Oh would ya kindly shut up ya ignorant witch!" He addressed Rocket with a quick nod. "We don't have much time to talk. It's not what you think. You obviously know by now that Lylla's brainwashed? Well that's not the full story. It's a parasite. A smart one that's taken over her body," he explained.

"Well- can you get it out?!"

Ranger sighed. "That's what I'm hoping, and what we're going to find out." He turned to Lylla, "speaking of which darlin', where's our, oh so grand leader? He's running a bit late for his latest prisoner outbreak, let alone, his own men aren't even responding to ONE cell outbreak," he snickered.

"Right here Ranger. You wanted me, I'm here." A voice behind them spoke up.

* * *

_Astroliopa…. it's him. _

Rocket's eyes went wide. He had no reason to glance around Ranger, since the man was literally over six feet tall, a height that towered over any small mammal like themselves. The voice alone was enough for the raccoon to recognize and distinguish the speaker himself.

Next was the appearance. The black beard, his middle-aged pale white face, the black armor that resembled combat plating. His smooth wave of dark hair.

It was too obvious.

"It's you….." Rocket growled, tightening his fists. "You two-faced piece of shit of a father. You called me your son…. you called me the reason you lived…. YOU CALLED ME THE DANG BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU!" He rose his voice, then snickered. "And yet you tore me apart. Turned me into a machine. Experimented on your 'son.' Did you ever stop to think-"

"Rocket," Ranger cut in, "lemme' handle this."

Even though he attempted to stop his brother, Astroliopa began to speak. "You have reason to be angry…. Rocket. Both you and your brother do. I have no justification for some of my choices, but there are others where I do." He paused and gazed over Rocket in awe, and Ranger as well. "Two years…. and you still almost look just like Ranger," he chuckled, "yet in terms of your personality, you've changed and grown so much. And you don't even realize it."

"Don't act like you're happy for me," Rocket snarled, "I don't want to hear your damn praise and input, because as far as I'm concerned, it's pure bullcrap and you know it!"

"I'm sorry you see it that way."

"That _is_ the way it is," Ranger intervened. "Tearing us from our families was one thing. Making us your slaves, without telling us the truth? Then changing Rocket into a machine, while you've been doing the same thing to hundreds of other animals like him? That's the last straw. You've done enough. It's time you started paying for what you've done, ya sick asshole."

"You still don't understand…" Astroliopa shook his head.

"No, _you _still don't understand, Astroliopa!" Ranger exclaimed, slamming his foot down as he swung Lylla in front of himself, keeping the arrow close to her head. "Ripping apart creatures from their kin and making them your personal slaves doesn't have _any _justification whatsoever! Not to mention combining genes of other animals to make new ones! Who knows how many you've already enslaved! Hundreds? Thousands? _Millions? _Who am I kidding? The shrinks know that stuff betta' than I do, but I have a clue. I _know better." _He looked to Rocket. "We both do."

Astroliopa did what Rocket least expected and watched him gently smile in his direction, and also his brother's. "Yet you carry on to entirely go by what you think is a solid judgement when your brother doesn't even remember what I've done for him. I have done _so much _more than you think for him. Much, which you haven't perceived." He narrowed his eyes. "I loved Rocket. And I know what you've done as a young one. The terrible things you've done, the crimes you've committed, the rebellious attitude you've had against me…. you hated me. You still do. You vilify me beyond the very extent of which you hate others. Finding out what you were not supposed to acquire about your past… that only feed this built up constructed feeling of hatred you had for me. And I know I should want to hurt you for what you've done. I realize that what you've done shows you don't care about anything I've done for you, and that you are still blind to the concept of showing appreciation for it." Astroliopa sighed. "But I still care for you just as I do with Rocket. You being a rebellious criminal or not, I as a father, cannot deny I still feel the same for you as I did two years ago."

"I can tell. Changing your son from a perfect raccoon into a fifty percent robotic cyborg definitely shows you love him. Not telling him about it really adds a nice little cherry on the top too," Ranger sardonically responded.

Astroliopa looked ready to speak again when Peter dashed through the doorway of the room. The human yelped and rolled onto his back before aiming downrange with one of his laser pistols at Grimlock, who stood tall in the doorway, gauntlet blades unsheathed. "Dad!" He called out, "help me out here!"

Astroliopa slowly glanced towards Peter's direction and turned his body, completely disregarding the threat of Lylla right now. He lowered his eyes to nearly slits and glared towards Grimlock. "I told you _not _to engage him, you insolent brute! You do not harm my son in any manner, or I will have you personally wiped of your database and any memory you have of living, and make you a solitary vegetable."

"He attempted to locate you when you precisely told him not to move," Grimlock interjected quickly, "does that not mean I have the right to make him do as you have told him?"

"Drop it!" He ordered firmly, making Grimlock immediately lower his weapons, then turned to Peter. "He's on your side. He won't hurt you, Pete. Trust me. What you're seeing right now isn't what you think. It's just a little argument we're having here…"

Just then, Ranger rose the orb into the air, making Grimlock's optics widen at the sight, and his red centers brighten. "I think this is _exactly _what it looks like," he snapped abruptly, making Astroliopa turn around. "And what this is, is a big conspiracy."

"What?" Peter lowered his weapon and glanced to Ranger, than to Rocket… and his eyes widened. He gazed at his father with a foreign look, and slowly shook his head. "Don't tell me it's true. Don't tell me that this is what I'm seeing." He pointed to Grimlock with his free hand. "He's with….. you?" He asked out of disbelief, looking back to Astroliopa. "You said you didn't have the orb. You said you didn't have Rocket, or anyone of my friends, you _said _that everyone was safe-"

"And I wasn't lying was I?" He interrupted, nodding once. "No one is harmed. It told you we'd find the orb and we did. It's in safe hands and nothing's been done with it. Grimlock won't cause harm to anyone either. He's not working for any organization like you thought." He pointed to himself. "He works for _me, _Pete. Follows my orders. What I say, goes. I told you, I don't say things for my health. I don't lie."

"But you _did lie!_" Peter exclaimed, "you had my friends this whole time, didn't you? You're Astroliopa!" When the room fell silent, he looked from person to person, until he found Rocket. "Isn't he?"

Rocket gave him a solid nod of confirmation. "Yeah. That's him." He averted his eyes from Peter's and stared ahead at the Farisada male. "He's the one behind this whole thing. He directed Grimlock to meet us at Xandar. Staged the whole damn attack. He was the one who hired that goon Deadshot to kill us. He was the one who sent soldiers to attack us all those times….. but the one thing he didn't want was for Peter to die. That's why he always makes sure no one's trying to purposely kill Peter. He's also the one who ruined my life," Rocket continued, walking around Astroliopa, "the one who made me forget what I really was. _Who I was, _if I were to be perfectly honest. And I still don't know," he laughed. "That's the hilarious part. Rocket Raccoon still doesn't know who he is."

"You do, JP293, you just haven't thought it through enough," Grimlock pointed out with cold amusement streaming through his voice.

"Grimlock," Astroliopa placed a hand in the air to cut him off, to which the mercenary nodded and kept quiet. "That's enough."

Ranger smirked, then glanced from Lylla to Astroliopa. "I see Grim's still your pet slave. Nice to see you decided to make use of another pet too." He patted Lylla's shoulder as if gesturing to the parasite within, making Lylla shuffle in place. "You ain't slick boss. I know Varsana's hidin' in there. Been watchin' her. That ain't a brainwashed Lylla, I know that for a fact." The long-haired mammal shot him a grin from afar.

"You know why I had to do it. Lylla wouldn't rest until she escaped. She was also in it with you and Rocket's escape plan… a criminal. She needed to be punished for committing those crimes. Treason isn't an easy thing to forgive, Ranger, you know that," Astroliopa tensely responded, standing nearly as still as a statue.

"You're not punishing Lylla for this. Ya punishin' Rocket. Everything you've done has been to punish him, hasn't it? To punish my brother, and for what? Trying to escape from this hellhole?" Ranger demanded, "that sounds really pathetic on your part boss, wouldn't you say?" He then scoffed and frowned. "But that's besides the point. We've talked long enough. Let's get down to business. First things first…. I think our human wants to see his friends. Last I checked there were four. One's here, so there's three. Show me them at this moment. Alive."

"As you wish…"

Grimlock stepped forward out of immediate protest. "Master, you do realize you are-"

"Can it, I said enough, Grimlock!" Astroliopa ordered, "what's the harm in letting them see? I don't have anything to hide." He opened a bracer on his arm and typed in a few words, until he paused. A small audible vibration sounded from the bracer, and Astroliopa slowly brought out the bracer's tiny screen so Ranger could see it clearly.

Peter and Ranger squinted in closely at the image. Drax, Gamora, and Groot. They were all alive, in their regular gear, and didn't look injured anywhere obvious. The small trio was stuck in a room together, and appeared to be trying to look for a way out of the room. Gamora examined it with Drax, feeling along the wall, while Groot blinked up at the camera, squinting at it hard as if he felt he could look right at who was watching.

"See? I told you, you have nothing to fear," He brought his bracer arm back to himself.

"Where's Sam then?" Rocket questioned, "your guys just up and took her out of this cell! Where did you take her?"

"The morgue. Where you're going next," Lylla spoke up with an amused and cold laugh.

"That's enough out of you," Ranger snapped, growling as he pulled back on her neck, making her gasp, and Rocket glared.

"It's pointless to resist. What you're attempting won't end well. Lylla is on our side, you are surrounded by my men and are stuck in a place which you have no familiar terrain, and you have not a clue where your friends are. Surrender," Astroliopa commanded with open arms. "Or I will have to shed blood which I know is not necessary."

Ranger scoffed. "How about I kill all of us using the orb, and you rot where you belong in a hole in the ground?"

Astroliopa sighed heavily and placed a hand upon his forehead and closed his eyes. Seconds later, he opened them and exhaled calmly. "So unreasonable." He turned to Peter. "Peter, you know the circumstances we're in right now. Be a little more understanding. I don't desire to harm anyone in this room, and I really don't want to have to hurt your friends, but I will if you make me do this. You're my son, on my side or not, my flesh and blood. Don't make me do something which I may regret for the rest of my life. Be reasonable, unlike Ranger. Tell them to stand down, and we'll talk about what you want, and what I want. And what I think you want…. Is for all of your friends to leave intact. What I want, is for the orb to stay with me." he looked to Rocket. "And I want him, Ranger, and Lylla, to stay as well." Peter had to do his best not to shout of outrage at his terms. "Now that doesn't sound so hard, does it? Besides, I could protected that orb you've spoke of much better than the Xandarians ever could, don't you think?"

Peter swallowed dryly and glowered at his father with a deadpan. "Go to hell."

"Excuse me?"

"If you think I'm letting you have the orb and one of the best team members I've ever worked with in my life, when I've seen the kind of person you are, you can go to hell," Peter declared. "The Xandarians were doing an outstanding job until you sent your little terminator after them to do your dirty work. Killing soldiers, innocent people, enslaving servants is not the kind of person I saw my father as. And you sure as heck aren't him."

Astroliopa blinked. "So you decline my surrender request? Very well."

As soon as the words were said, Ranger's hand lurched forward as the orb flew out of his hand into Grimlock's magnetic grasp. Without the orb, instead, Ranger took the arrow, pressed a button on it, and jabbed it hard into Lylla's side. The possessed Lylla shouted with outrage as electricity coursed through her. Ranger held on, even as the electricity began to zap him as well, and he tensed with clenched teeth, feeling the parasite begin to loosen its grip on Lylla. He swung her around to the ground and fell adjacent to the now unconscious and zapped Lylla on the floor, gasping for air.

"How unfortunate," Astroliopa stated glumly, knocking Peter against the wall with elbow smash to counterattack him. "Deal with Rocket, Grimlock. Show him what he _really, _remembers."

"Yes master," The behemoth turned to address Rocket. The raccoon began to slowly step back, defenseless without a weapon. He tensed up as the machine lunged forward towards him and tried to leap out of reach, but Grimlock caught him by his tail. He swung him around, making pain run up Rocket's spinal column and tail. Once he was in the air, Rocket hit the ground and slide out of the room, now on his back.

He stood up and did so much faster when he saw Grimlock walking outside to meet him. The doors behind Grimlock automatically closed, and a red light next to the door showed it was locked. "Take your weapons, JP293," Grimlock ordered, gesturing to the left of Rocket with his hand.

Rocket nearly jumped as the wall next to him opened, revealing a nice and orderly set of weapons on the pop-out metal trey. He picked up his machine gun: Every part was in order, just as he'd left it. His ammo was fully restocked. He was given extra knives and grenades. The only thing that stood out to him was a very interesting toy, one that Rocket found very pleasing: An black baton. One that ejected an energy sword blade, the weapon that Grimlock had wielded against them back on Xandar.

Smiling, he pocked the baton in his angle sheathe, and looked back up to Grimlock. "So you like to treat your prisoners before you kill them. You do this all the time?"

"Not always. Shall we call it- keeping the odds fair? Give an opponent who's experienced enough a good arsenal, and it makes things fun. Gives the predator a worthy prey," Grimlock clarified, stepping forward with unsheathed blades.

"Might want to be redefine who's the predator and who's the prey bud," Rocket said with a small grin, his tail flickering with anticipation.

"I think not. You were always the bright one, subject, but you were never the best in terms of strength. Don't you remember?" He responded in a very gentle, mocking tone, then his red eyes dilated with a glint of some sort of amusement. He cocked his head to the side. "Oh wait… you don't remember, that's right. We could change that right now." He rose up a small grey switch in his hand. "I think we've played our game long enough. It's time for you to remember subject."

He pressed the button.

Rocket stood where he was. He disregarded Grimlock for a bit, appearing to stare off into space, head twitching on occasion. Things that were not of this world were flashing through Rocket's head. He was not looking at the present. He was looking at the past.

Grimlock. He was the one who diagnosed Rocket's mental conditions as he grew. He was one of the first 'people' Rocket had met after he was picked to become genetically modified. Just as he'd remembered before, _he _had been the one who'd led all of Rocket's operations. Grimlock was the warden of Halfworld's prison…. Halfworld. Halfworld was where Rocket was from. Lylla was from there too. Regardless of this, Grimlock wasn't just the head warden. He was the head shrink. The head of security, below Astroliopa. The eyes and ears of the boss. He knew everything that happened in the facility, at any time, and any place. He was brutal. Smart, yes, intelligent, but also brutal. Vicious, merciless. And he hated Rocket. He hated him, Rocket remembered, because Astroliopa always favored him over Grimlock. He always thought he was the best. The strongest, the smartest, the fastest… and Grimlock didn't like it. He couldn't accept that his own master was picking a raccoon subject over his second-in-command.

Combat feats were what Rocket mainly defeated him in. Different tournaments they'd have in the combat room. They'd tie many times because the battles would never end…. but Rocket enjoyed the times he'd beat Grimlock in challenges. He actually outsmarted this machine, this smart, humanoid robot, who was supposed to know everything supposedly.

Now Rocket remembered. He remembered the horrors of Halfworld, and what Grimlock really was to him. _Partner. Enemy. Inner demon. Opponent._

He was his _nemesis, _to say the least.

"Remember now… partner?" Grimlock asked, as if on cue.

Rocket closed his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, smiling strangely and laughed. He _didn't _mention that he'd recalled those kun-fu moves from before…. And quite a few things about math that Rocket would've never thought in a million years he'd be able to comprehend. His reflexes felt sharper than before. Everything felt like it was put into overdrive. Sadistically, he opened his eyes, and looked at the new Grimlock with a grin of pure confidence.

"Oh yeah. I remember you Grimlock…. It's been a while hasn't it? But I'm not a subject. I'm not your partner. I'm not Rocket. I'm the guy who's going to kick your ass." He grinned even wider and rose his machine gun up with one hand, realizing it felt almost weightless, and laughed again, giggling even.

Grimlock, pleased as ever, reared back with both blades at the ready. "You have no idea how long I've awaited this. This day shall go down in history, the battle of two great adversaries. The day I finally get to _kill you, _Rocket Raccoon."

Rocket placed his paws on the trigger. "Then come and get me."


	31. The Battle: Part I

**A/N Now, I know what most of you are thinking right now. All I will say is: Don't lose hope. THEY will have a chance together. ;)**

**R&amp;R as we approach the end.**

* * *

**Chapter 31: The Battle - Part I**

Rocket stood where he was and continued grinning at Grimlock. "Come on!" He shouted again. "We don't have all day Grim!"

The robot made a fist in Rocket's direction. A small piece of weaponry attached to his arm fired a laser projectile towards Rocket's direction. Rocket swung his body around to the left, his feet not leaving where they stood as the bolt hit the wall next to him. He looked back at Grimlock and smirked, his teeth playfully showing as he stuck out his tongue, making him fire at Rocket again. The bolt missed once more.

"Shoot me Grim. Come on!" Rocket taunted again, pumping his fist in the air while his eyes lit up madly.

Grimlock raised his second fist. Rocket waited, his body tensing in excitement like a football player's would when they're waiting for the 'hike' yell.

Then, Grimlock began to fire. Rocket scattered to the right, dodging bolt after bolt. He stopped short and the next red laser missed the front of his face by an inch of fur. He jumped up and grabbed the top of the doorframe, then flipped off backwards, while spinning in midair. He heard the sounds of multiple laser bolts whizzing by his body, and as Grimlock's gauntlet hands pumped them out, faster and faster.

The fire rate of the weapons began to increase. Grimlock began to slowly walk closer to Rocket, still shooting wildly, even as he missed every shot. The raccoon landed on top of a bare metal table and executed another backflip without the use of his paws. He found his feet firmly hit the wall behind him, which he used to then volley himself above the incoming path of laser bolts which were still hair-length away from hitting him.

The world slowed. The half-second Grimlock took to readjust him aim back on Rocket, Rocket landed on the ground and rolled onto his stomach. He spun around and aimed his machine gun barrel directly at Grimlock's chest, and fired three consecutive grenades at him.

The machine unbelievably stood where he was and stared at Rocket as two of the grenades flew past his sides and exploded into an enormous yellow flash, followed by two tremendous roars which shook the room. In its place, smoke flowed.

The third grenade appeared to have a second delay before it impacted into Grimlock's chest… and bounced off his chest. Rocket's mouth gapped, but his shocked state didn't stop him from finding the common sense to jump away from the grenade which rolled towards him. He jumped over the table and tossed down his gun, covering his ears and clenching his eyes tightly shut. The explosive detonation thundered in Rocket's ears despite his best efforts. No amount of ear covering or ear muffs could protect him from the damage an explosive could do to his hearing at that range, and he knew it.

He expected his hearing to be impaired, but luckily his ears were not ringing, although they did feel like they were in pain. Rocket stood up grabbed his gun, struggling to get a good grip due to shaky hands, and whipped around and smoke engulfed him. He coughed lightly and looked past the other side of the table, seeing Grimlock's red eyes through the smoke. They emitted the faint and dry color of his vision, the vision of the monster that intended to fight Rocket to the death.

"Thought you were going to kill me. How 'bout you actually aim this time, four eyes?!" Rocket boasted with a snicker through the smoke, raising his gun up to the ceiling.

An object swirled through the smoke and smashed into Rocket's stomach, making him cry out in pain as he crumpled over onto both knees. His eyes began to tear up as he grabbed at the object with his second hand, clutching his stomach at the same time. Two large serrated blades were impaled in Rocket's chest. The majority of the blade hung in the air, but the tip was burrowed inside his vest. The rest felt like heavy weights, pulling him to the ground. Rocket let himself stay on his knees, his face cringing with pain and acceptance of failure, and lowered his head down to his wound.

His expression now unreadable, and his posture no longer a threat, Grimlock emerged from the smoke to finish his enemy. He appeared to walk in an informal and relaxed manner, lazily letting himself rise on his tiptoes occasionally, and to walk off balance. On his right gauntlet, it's revealed that his serrated blades are missing, indicating that he did eject them from his wrist to use them as a throwing weapon. On the left wrist, he still had two remaining blades.

"Such an unfortunate failure, Rocket. You tried so valiantly to fight, but you fell easy victim to your own boasting and pointless antics." Grimlock allowed his eyes to behold Rocket's seemingly critically injured and life-threatening state. He leaned down on his own one knee, still appearing taller than the raccoon at this height, and leaned in closer to the small organism. "But understand…. I have nothing against your friends, Rocket. You misunderstand my motives. This has nothing to do with business, nor the motives of my master, nor Lylla, Ranger, or Sam."

Rocket looked to visibly shake in place, his head still lowered limply, and his chest slowly heaving for breaths. Grimlock raised up his left arm, which extended the set of remaining blades, readied to impale Rocket once more. "It has everything to do with you. It's personal, Rocket, always has been. But no…. that's only the bonus of this job. Killing you. Right now."

In the midst of what was about to become a living nightmare for one of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the head of Rocket Raccoon shot to life with a dangerous grin. He shoved the barrel of his machine gun up against Grimlock's chest, making the machine's head look down at the barrel out of surprise. He said one word before pulling the trigger with a wink. "Gotcha."

A loud electrical zap propelled Grimlock off Rocket's gun and into the wall across from him, causing the robot to fall to his knees. A smoking hole appeared in his chest as a result of the 'Razor Lazor' as Rocket liked to call his little weapon feature, revealing frayed wires near the edge of Grimlock's remaining torso. Grunting loudly, Grimlock examined the hole, not appearing to care much about it. He stood up slowly, looking up to Rocket, who stood with both blades still stuck in his chest. The raccoon's chest was not bleeding: His vest had stopped the blades before they could penetrate fully. The blades fell loosely from his chest and hit the ground, showing Rocket was not injured either.

Rocket shouted a battle roar and raised his weapon, beginning to let loose a volley of armor piercing machine gun ammo. Grimlock returned fire with his duel arm laser cannons, dashing to the right to maneuver around Rocket. The raccoon darted over a set chair in front of him and fired off a grenade. Grimlock swung down onto his knees, avoiding the explosive which obliterated the wall behind him, firing at Rocket's midsection with both fist. Rocket jumped off the chair, now holding a small metallic stone in his hands. He crushed the object, which created a shield the raccoon's size, allowing him to block Grimlock's laser attacks altogether.

He landed in front of the robotic titan with his shield out in front of his body. Grimlock lowered his fists and ran forward with a loud shout. He rose one hand revealing the same sort of black baton which Rocket had been given. A long stream of bright red energy sudden illuminated itself from the handle, its length at least two times Rocket's own size. Grimlock planted his second hand on the weapon, and lifted the energy sword high above his shoulder like a knight ready to smite its enemy. Rocket jumped up to the table, avoiding Grimlock's straight down slash to the floor. He didn't move fast enough to evade the slash which followed through towards his shield. Rocket's shield split in half, and the raccoon himself fell off the table onto the floor.

Grimlock stepped onto the table and onto the floor in front of Rocket, who began to crawl backwards away from the robot as he approached him. He rose the energy sword as Rocket pushed himself up against the wall, who already fingered the baton at his angle.

Just as Grimlock stroke downward with his weapon, Rocket's baton ejected the same wall of energy that blocked Grimlock's slash. Rocket gritted his teeth together, feeling the overpowering strength of Grimlock's metallic gears beginning to wear him down, second by passing second. The force exerted by both laser blades pushing together that hard caused sparks to violently squeal out from the collision. Rocket felt the hot red blades of both energy swords beginning to move closer to his own chest. Sweat began to decorate his already heated body, and his fur felt more wet than dry at this point. Rocket growled lightly, slowly beginning to push Grimlock's blade back. His growl built up as he summoned more effort and strength, louder and louder, until Rocket shouted with absolute fury and pushed Grimlock's blade arm off balance. Using strength he didn't realize he had, he lunged forward and swung his weapon at Grimlock's chest area, only to be blocked by the cyborg's weapon once more.

Their weapons were once again blocking in the form of a letter X. "I have underestimated your strength it seems," Grimlock remarked, not bothering to push back any more on Rocket's weapon, but just enough so he blocked him from attacking.

Rocket snickered up at him. "Oh, you'll find I'm full of surprises!" He exclaimed before leaping up and slashing at him several more times, only to be blocked each time he attempted to attack. Grimlock changed sword hands and swiped downward into Rocket's sword blade. Rocket blocked it and began to relentlessly take the offense with several more forward slashes towards Grimlock's legs- the only place he really could attack easily. Grimlock blocked every slice with ease, before lunging back on one leg, and bounding up like a tiger with his blade poised for a quick stab at Rocket. Unfortunately, getting on his level made things easier for Rocket, who jumped up and ricocheted Grimlock's blade tip away with his own sword, and landed behind Grimlock, just as his energy sword's tip slashed the top of Grimlock's back.

The robot grunted with anger and twirled around, whipping his sword around with sincere hatred, causing Rocket to back up. Grimlock charged him, this time, deciding to take the offense. Startled by his relentless attack, Rocket cartwheeled backwards to gain distance, but Grimlock closed the distance with an easy forward dash and jabbed his blade at Rocket's blade as the raccoon landed back on his feet. Rocket didn't have proper grasp on the blade handle at the time, and his loose grip caused him to drop the energy sword baton behind him, leaving him for Grimlock's unlikely mercy.

* * *

Peter fired off several laser bolts at Astroliopa. He ran forward, shouted, and jumped all in one motion at the man. A foolish move on his part.

The Farisada grabbed Peter's arm when he tried to hit him, Peter jabbed his gun barrel against his chest and tried to fire, but he found his second arm was also tightly gripped by Astroliopa. Exclaiming with pain, Peter clenched his teeth tightly and stared him down angrily. "I trusted you!" He shouted loudly.

"And you still should." Astroliopa loosened the tightness on Peter's arms, giving the human all the time he needed to kick him in the chest. He propelled himself off his chest using his legs, forcing Astroliopa to release him, and slide away from him across the floor onto his back. Astroliopa slowly shook his head and began to circle Peter, clearly not fazed by his attacks. Peter stood quickly and fired another laser round at Astroliopa, but the man leaned to the right and dodged it with little exertion. Peter fired again, and he still managed to maneuver away safety.

_If I can't shoot him, I'll hit him. _

Throwing his weapons aside, he lunged at Astroliopa and tossed both energy weapons aside. Asroliopa accepted the punch Peter delivered to his chest, scarcely moving an inch from his position. He grabbed Peter's fist and tossed it back, only to receive another fist towards his face. Astroliopa ducked and leaned to the right to avoid another flurry of fists and kneed Peter in the mouth. Peter's jaw snapped upward and he recoiled out of pain, before counterattacking with an elbow to his face. Again, his father proved to be inferior in hand-to-hand. The titan grabbed Peter's own elbow and slammed it back against his face, and punched Peter in the gut, causing him to crumple over to feel his stomach. Peter retaliated with a reckless swing from the hand that didn't clutch his chest. Astroliopa- anticipating this sort of move- ducked in time and twirled around on one hand on the ground, and slammed his foot crossed both of Peter's ankles. Peter lost his footing and momentum, immediately falling face forward, but caught himself with both hands.

He changed tactics. Pretended to look weak. He leaned his face forward into his hands and coughed, feeling sweat drip down from the black hairs on his head which hung low, and out of place. His hair was greatly messy and out of its usual combed position. He closed his dry eyelids and crossed both eyes as a bead of perspiration ran to the bridge of his nose, and fell in between his arms. He felt ripples of pain in his abdomen area, and it seemed like his recent breakfast would all come spilling out any second. Even though this positon hurt, he waited as he heard Astroliopa's approaching footsteps.

His black boots crept around his vision, right into where his eyes could see best in the center.

"Peter, please. Surrender. You know it's easier this way. My terms are not difficult to understand," Astroliopa said in a disappointed tone, "nor are they hard to accept. You're my son. Don't make this harder than it has to be." He crouched down beside the man, placing a foot right next to Peter's hand.

Just then, Peter's head shot up, and his hand immediately touched Astroliopa's boot. The farisada looked down in alarm: Peter had attached a rocket booster to his ankle. He looked back to Peter out of shock, realizing what he'd done.

Peter smiled back at him mischievously. "I said: Go to hell."

He pressed the control that lie at his side, causing a shouting Astroliopa to propel directly into the lighting above them. His head slammed into the glass casing of the lights, shattering it, and causing a patch of the room to become dark. Peter rolled out of the way and looked across from himself to find his guns, lying where he'd left them. _Thank god for fighting Gamora on Xandar, _Peter chuckled within his thoughts. _She gave me that bright idea._

Astroliopa fell limply from the roof onto his back. He grunted lightly, rolled his shoulder, and looked up at Peter, his eyes beginning to turn feral with rage, his face decorated with cuts from the glass, and his hair slightly burnt from the lighting. They turned from blue to bright green. His nose and mouth formed wrinkles around his face to add to his snarl…. And his overall face began to change. The wounds on his face also began to slowly disappear from view… healing without any treatment.

Peter looked across and ran for his laser pistols, not waiting to see what else would happen. He leaned down as he sprinted and snatched up his pistols, then turned just in time to find what he was face to face with.

An orange and black stripped carnivore, at least seven feet long, with a very dangerous yearning for meat. Human meat fell into that category unfortunately. It stood where Astroliopa was, and Peter remembered what it was called, especially as he heard the loud growl its throat emitted.

This was a Bengal Tiger. An animal from Earth. This was Astroliopa in another form.

Peter backed away a step, then another, slow as could be. He frowned with seriousness and kept his pistols pointed towards the ground. "Well?!" he shouted, "come on dad! Come and teach me a lesson you asshole!"

The tiger reared back on both legs, curled his lip and growled even louder, letting loose a brief roar at Peter. It's sharp, curved, razor sharp teeth snapped at him from a distance as if accepting his challenge. "You dare treat your patriarch this way?!" It spoke deeply, in a voice that was not Astroliopa's, "THEN YOU WILL PAY!"

It lunged forward at Peter, bounding straight ahead at a surprising and ominously insane speed rate. Peter raised his weapons and ran backward, firing wildly with both weapons. He didn't get any more than six laser bolts in before the creature jumped.

Peter's feet lit up, and he rocket-jumped out of the tiger's reach, propelling himself into the wall, causing him to fall off balance and onto the ground. He groaned at his stupid- but also well thought counter maneuver, and used the wall to stand, while he looked at the tiger that furiously turned around to face him.

Before he could even stand all the way, the tiger jumped forward with both back legs like a frog. The human fell to his back on instinct, avoiding the tiger's claws, which raked where his torso would've been, and fired a bolt point black into its torso. The creature roared with tremendous fury and leaned back, swatting Peter's left hand weapon away using its claws. Peter drew back his hand on instinct- luckily not cut, but still pinned to a wall, and tried to take the easy way out by rolling out between its legs. The tiger rammed its side against Peter's chest, forcing him against the wall, making him drop his second gun onto the floor. The tiger snapped its massive jaw at Peter, making him squirm down to avoid the teeth. Peter kept his head lowered as the teeth snapped again, and he grabbed the jaw tightly with both hands to try and keep it from doing any damage to him. It growled angrily and just slightly managed to open both rows of teeth, then shook Peter off as he tried to reach for his gun, throwing him in the opposite direction. Peter snapped around and punched the tiger in the eye. It roared with pain and darted back, shaking its head, slashing at Peter's hand in the process.

Peter shouted and examined the wound that it'd inflicted. He found a set of three curly cuts that'd each been put into his arm at the exact same angle, and seethed at the pain as he tried to move the wrist. He bit his lip and summoned all the power he could to ignore the wound and snatched up the weapon from the ground…. and aimed it at the tiger.

It starer Peter in the eye, its snarl formed once more, green eyes glittering. "You were warned," Astroliopa's tiger voice growled.

"And so were you." Peter retorted coldly, pulling the trigger.

Instead of discharging like he expected it to, he heard an audible click, signaling it was empty.

"I gave you the truth. I offered for your friends to go, and in return, I simply keep who belonged here. I protect the orb. I offered for you to leave when I _wanted you to originally stay!" _Astroliopa roared through the tiger, slashing away the last line of defense Peter had against him. "And you repay me like this?! I gave you an opportunity you could've taken, Peter. Have you no gratitude for what I offer?" The tiger clenched its teeth and pushed its ajar mouth almost up to Peter's face, who leaned back against the wall as far as tight as he could.

"Repay you?" Peter spit into his face, huffing and breathing in and out heavily, pointing at him. "You took my friends hostage. You killed half the Nova Corp to get the orb. You took the orb and for what? So you could lure me here to steal Rocket and Sam? What does Sam even mean to you? Is she just another slave too?" He dared to add.

Astroliopa banged his claw against the side of the wall next to Peter's head, making him flinch and jump. "She is not my slave. Don't you dare say such things. Sam is not a slave, she is not a subject, and she will _never _be considered below me! I care about her just as much as I would with you!" His eyes lost some of their rage, and a new emotion lingered within them. "Oh….. you don't know?" He curiously gazed at Peter. "You still don't know what Sam is to you, do you?"

Peter opened his mouth when the tiger which Astroliopa had spoken through suddenly whipped around in a violent twirl. It roared outloud in some sort of seizure, twitching, its legs beginning to shake in some sort of twisted dance as it snapped at something that had been fired into one of his its back legs: An arrow.

The roar and growling began to fade eventually, and so did the violent dance, and the tiger fell to its side. It still calmly breathed, but huffed out air as its eyes closed. Peter looked up from the beast, his heart still pounding, and saw Rocket's brother, Ranger, standing over an unconscious Lylla, with a futuristic bow drawn. He had another arrow drawn back on the bowstring, prepared to fire again if the beast awakened.

The human, still bleeding near his hand, stood up shakily and grabbed one of his weapons- the one that was loaded- and watched as Ranger pocketed the arrow into his quiver. "We don't have time to waste! He'll be awake fasta' than you can buggin' blink," Ranger said in a very quick manner. When Peter didn't move right away, he added, "help me carry the girl. I'll explain the rest later. Right now we need to help Rocket, and get your friends the hell out of here!"

"Sounds like a plan," Peter agreed, for once, letting someone who was like Rocket tell him what to do.

* * *

Grimlock approached Rocket, his weapon raised, when the area between them suddenly expanded into a giant, orange wall of pure solid energy.

Rocket stopped where he was and squinted his eyes in confusion at the sizzling mass of energy, while Grimlock charged at it and tossed himself against the newfound solid barrier. "NO!" he shouted with outrage, shooting at it and slashing at it with every weapon he had.

The raccoon stopped to think and looked around wildly. "Who the hell… where did that even come from?"

The door which had contained Peter and Astroliopa opened, revealing Peter and Ranger running out to Rocket. On Peter's back, a tired Lylla was regaining consciousness. "Holy crap…. what happened in there?" Rocket inquired.

Peter widened his eyes at the state of the room. "I could say the same about Vietnam right about now," he said with a large nod towards the entire destroyed room. "Ranger managed to get the parasite out of your girlfriend, and I…. temporarily settled things with my dad, to put it gently."

"For how long?"

"Not long. He's been hit with a tranquilizer," Peter replied.

"Dang. We've gotta go then."

A small groan came from the creature on Peter's back. Lylla was beginning to wake up. Rocket noticed this and his ears perked up. "Peter… Peter, bring her down!" he ordered, "hurry!"

Starlord did as he wanted and carefully laid the otter that was about Rocket's size on the ground. She shuffled on the ground a moment, groaned again. Lylla's eyelids fluttered, and her head lolled as Rocket picked up her upper body and placed it in his lap. He began to lightly stroke her facial fur with his paw, taking consideration of her sensitive eyes. "Lylla? Lylla, it's me, wake up! It's Rocket!" She stirred, blinked widely, and then closed her eyes quickly. Gradually, her eyes readjusted to the light, and she was staring up at Rocket, blinking steadily.

"Lylla?" He asked again, silently hoping that she was really the Lylla that he knew to be true.

"Rocket?" She looked up to the raccoon, mouth ajar with wonder. Her voice came out smooth and soft, unlike the parasite's.

It stunned Rocket at the sound of how she projected her beautiful voice. "It's me," he said, "And it's you?"

The otter nodded, pawing his face with her right hand, while placing her left around his back. She smiled and leaned upward into Rocket's face. The raccoon's face flushed as her forehead pushed against his, and as her nose nuzzled his. Lylla affectionately angled her mouth down, and Rocket's eyes closed as warmth met his lips. He allowed his throat to vibrate pleasurably as he turned his lips to the right. He kissed Lylla back, unable to resist the masculine urge he felt around her. She was so soft…. her fur was so beautiful, thin, but beautiful nevertheless. "Lylla…." Rocket breathed in between the small centimeter gap that separated their lips, smiling crazily at her.

She was definitely a familiar feel to him. Everything about her was familiar territory, and Rocket loved it. The best part was the memories. The warm-hearted, fun loving memories they created together. The adventures outside Halfworld, the fight with Blackjack, the love, the promises, the laughs…. the sex. Rocket loved all of what he experienced with Lylla, especially now that he remembered.

Rocket scoffed out of disbelief. "I…. I thought you meant everything you said. I didn't know you were brainwashed by a parasite…"

Lylla shook her head. "I could never say any of that, Rocket. That was all Varsana talking. But she's gone now…. I think." She winced, then felt the back of her head.

Stroking her fur, Rocket leaned in next to her ear. "But I meant what I said. I would _never, _put you on the back burner." He smiled, then brushed his nose across hers. "You're my bright light, sweetheart. That doesn't change in a heartbeat." He leaned in and kissed her tender lips again, pawing her check with his hand.

Lylla allowed him to kiss, but didn't return it back as eagerly, looking into his eyes. "Rocket…. you know we can't avoid _that _subject." She titled her head and looked past Rocket briefly at a new figure who stood near the door.

Rocket looked to see where she was looking, and realized who it was who stood, and what Lylla meant by 'that subject.'

With her arms crossed, tail lowered with disapproval, and her eyebrows narrowed, Sam stood, leaning against the wall. "Happy I saved your ass yet again, Chuckles?" She coldly remarked.

"Yeah, that was her who pulled that little energy barrier trick," Ranger spoke up, next to Peter, "she really knows how to figure things out. Gotta' say. You pick your friends well, lil' brother."

"Okay!" Peter called out, gesturing to the slowly decaying energy wall which Grimlock was trapped behind, "let's work on getting out like we planned, hm?!"

"Great idea." Ranger put both thumbs up, and with that, was off towards the door.

With the commotion over, Lylla had been left to momentarily make eye contact with Sam, who immediately broke it and followed Ranger. She looked back to Rocket, who shamefully lowered his head, knowing full well that she'd figured out what was going on. Lylla nodded his way and stood. "We'll talk about this later when we find time. Right now, we work on getting out. Sound good?" She looked Rocket's way.

Not sure how else to respond, Rocket nodded. "As good as it will ever get."


	32. Sibling Feud

**A/N Admittedly... this chapter was rushed near the beginning. I hope it still satisfies and fufils the same purpose anyway. Enjoy.**

**4 Chapters to go... yes, I've set a certain number. Scary right? But that's because I have things planned out.**

* * *

**Chapter 32: Sibling Feud**

* * *

"We need to rescue the team next," Peter told Rocket, pacing back and forth across the small room.

"I know. We're going to, just hold on Peter," Rocket responded, only to receive a look of confliction from Ranger. He squinted his eyes at the larger raccoon, and he replied by waving him over with his hand.

Rocket walked over to him, and they quickly stopped together near a door. "We can't get them out. We don't have time right now," Ranger declared.

"What?" Rocket cocked his head to the side. "Why? We have to! They're the only way we're going to stand a chance against these clowns!"

Ranger glanced back at Peter, his mouth slightly ajar, then back to Rocket. "Look, lil' brotha', see those cameras up 'ere?" He pointed to them one of them in the corner, and Rocket nodded. "Astroliopa gave the guards strict orders to not attack unless things go out of hand. You'd think they wouldn't see, but they do, and since it's been a few seconds since our friends Grimlock and Astroliopa were cornered, they're likely to storm the room any second, which means we only have less than a minute before they do! Even if we had a chance of getting to your friends, that's exactly what his task force excepts us to do. We'd all die within minutes of getting to their cell-" Ranger stopped and glanced back, exhaling hard, "Rocket, we need to go now!" he said in a softer and more frantic voice, "we'll get your friends out later, but you have to trust me! We need to go somewhere safe and regroup!"

Without waiting for an answer, Ranger walked towards the wall farthest from Grimlock's holding cell, pulled out a small device, and projected the same circle of energy that had transported Rocket and his group before.

"Hey!" Peter called out, sounding pretty frantic. "Uh…. guys, we have a plan yet? That barrier's not lasting too much longer…" He gestured to the slowly deteriorating energy shield keeping Grimlock contained.

Rocket sighed. He felt he was going to regret this decision at some point, but it had to be done. He did trust Ranger after all. "Peter. We don't have time to rescue them. We have to come back later."

"No. We have to do this now, Rocket. If we leave, if _I leave, _they're going to follow. And what'll be the point then? It'll just be more running, and more running. We need to finish this now," Peter affirmed.

"Are you an idiot?!" Rocket exclaimed, "you almost died once already, you can't really be serious! They're going to kill you Quill!"

Peter's head snapped to the raccoon's direction. "Better me than our team. I'm not letting everything got to shit now."

"Rocket, we need to move!" Ranger cried out, still standing by the teleporter. He didn't see any sign of Sam or Lylla, assuming automatically that they were safely wherever Ranger had transported them to. "He's coming!"

A door diagonal from Rocket and Peter opened. Out from the threshold emerged a very distressed and angered Astroliopa, his black gloved hands clenched into fists as he quickly approached the two. Simultaneously, as Rocket began to back away, Grimlock and managed to maneuver around the degrading energy shield. He now joined Astroliopa in his slow advance on Peter. A grave look of concern crossed Rocket's face as he began to back up to Ranger's location, while watching Peter.

Peter stood where he was, his remaining laser weapon clutched tightly in the palm of his non-injured hand. Instead of aiming however, he rolled his head and dropped the weapon, before yelling and charging at Astroliopa at full speed. "Run Rocket!" he called out, before the sound of something metallic impacting with bone became audible. Peter cried out with pain, and Rocket looked back to see Astroliopa holding him tightly by the throat. The raccoon ran into the circle and looked back, just in time to see Grimlock standing and staring at him menacingly, and as Peter was slammed into the ground by Astroliopa's iron grip.

* * *

Rocket's life flashed before his eyes again as the teleporter changed. The feelings he experienced weren't much different from before, except he didn't focus on that. He thought about how Peter had, for the second time in a row, been left behind and nearly killed. He didn't think Astroliopa would kill him, but he was concerned about what Grimlock would do. The machine- or whatever that thing was- didn't seem to hold the same opinions and views as his master did. Considering Rocket knew especially now that he would kill anything to satisfy his desires, it only made things worse for him.

Rocket's feet slammed into the ground again out of nowhere. He nearly tripped and fell, but managed to hold his balance this time. Lylla, Sam, and Ranger all appeared at the same time as he had, all just as dazed as he'd been when entering this new area.

Ranger, not really all that intent on letting them adjust it seemed, sat up as if this were completely normal, and addressed the group. "We're going to be staying here for a bit to figure things out, and to rest. If you're wondering, we're in my little special place underground. A little shelter, I guess you could call it. It's simple. This is the main room," he waved his paws around the air that surrounded him. "You've got a set of metal chairs and a metal table. Pretty basic. Then you've got three different rooms. Each has a bed and a few old empty chests in case you wanna store anything." He gestured to the doors. "I would like to say more, but I'm pretty sure you're all worn out and tired. I am too. So at this point, I'd say we get some rest…. and talk game plans after we sleep. Sound good lads and lasses?"

Sam nodded, and Lylla did too. Rocket was another story. He wanted to talk to his brother, but he was also somewhat tired, and didn't feel like talking much anymore. They'd already fought long enough, and this day had been eventful enough as it was. Rocket understood where he needed to be. He wouldn't be any use to his friends, fatigued, worn out, and with his mind racing in various directions. He did have to take time to regenerate, rejuvenate his endurance, and check for injuries. While the idea of Peter being taken bothered Rocket a lot, and the thought that Groot and his friends were still stuck in Astroliopa's fortress, Rocket knew what he had to do.

Sam sat down at the table, and Ranger walked over to Rocket. When his older brother reached him, Rocket realized how exhausted they both actually were on the inside. Their fur coats were both matted with dirt, grit, gunpowder, and other irritancies, and sweat didn't make it fell any less uncomfortable. All it did was combine the ugly components to their fur. Their eyelids were red underneath from lack of sleep, and Rocket's own lids were slowly opening and closing. He'd never had a time like this to relax during the amount of hours he'd had a straight adrenaline rush during. Now that he was relaxing, his mind was starting to clam, and felt like it wanted one thing…. sleep.

"Thank you," Rocket said to him in a hushed voice, nodding to his older brother, who returned the gesture.

"Just doing my job," Ranger quipped, letting out a small yawn, patting Rocket's arm with his paw. "We'll have a good talk tomorrow… or later, if anyone can actually get some real sleep."

"Yeah. That won't be a problem for me," Rocket chuckled, putting paws on his hips as he glanced around. His eyes rested on Lylla, who stood near a room doorway, gazing back at Rocket's. _Or maybe there will be a problem getting some sleep._

Without another word, Rocket walked onward toward Lylla, who opened the door leading to one of the rooms. Once they were both inside, Lylla closed the door behind them.

* * *

He caressed her with affection, the otter of his dreams. Rocket kept his arm loosely around Lylla's waist while kissing her, letting his second paw feel along the side of her face. The otter lovingly nuzzled his nose and smooched the raccoon back, brushing her lips over his and letting him take control again with more kisses.

She leaned back against the bed, chuckling and smiling as he loomed over and continued kissing Lylla. Her lips met his again as he crawled on, and she began to give the raccoon more love. They exchanged gag-worthy smooches back and forth, Rocket stroking her hips, and Lylla holding his strong back in close. The raccoon closed his eyes and brought his arm under Lylla's back, bringing up her upper body, and nuzzled her neck with a playful growl. This made her giggle. She angled down her neck and softly pushed Rocket's chin up to where his eyes met hers. Lylla leaned in and kissed his lips again, making Rocket return the gesture with more warmth.

"Lylla…." he murmured, deeply kissing Lylla, inhaling and exhaling out of satisfaction. He wrapped his arms around her waist, careful not to strangle her, and tenderly kept kissing the otter. Rocket stroked the sides of her hips, his lips gradually giving shallower and softer kisses

"You're like a big teddy bear, just like I remember," she remarked with a small laugh, smiling brightly as she paused to take a breath. She stopped and turned her head sideways, letting Rocket bring her into his arms, and he cuddled her close to his chest. Lylla readjusted her neck and snuggled against his fur, longing for more of his body heat. She closed her eyes tightly and grabbed at his fur with her paws, hugging Rocket.

Rocket's eyelids became heavy as he felt her embrace. He sat for what seemed like forever, holding her in his arms on that bed, rocking back and forth with Lylla lightly, who still embraced him, being- he supposed- that big teddy bear that Lylla adored so greatly. The raccoon smiled and put an arm around her head, stroking her fur gently. He stared down at the otter and shuffled back so he could look at her face. "Remember the river?"

The male smirked at the memory and rubbed the back of his head, and Lylla giggled a bit too, and Rocket nodded. "You took off your clothes in front of me. And jumped into a river nude. And told me to try and get you."

"Go on."

"So I undressed and swam after you. And I did get you…. and I also got a nice smooch too," Rocket said with a small grin. "And Wal Rus saw all of that. Thought we were both crazy…. Especially you."

"At least he wasn't around for that part."

Rocket's grin grew a little wider. "Oh yeah. That. Then again… you're the one who put your head down there near my junk to begin with, so that's on you. And… yeah, I was the one who chased after you too, so I guess I'm to blame for getting second-based on a river bend. Not my smartest choice admittedly."

Lylla shrugged. "No one was around. It's not as if we had an audience, in which case that would be utterly disgusting and completely inconsiderate of the observers."

"True. We've done some things people wouldn't even imagine after all. Halfworld was good times," he responded.

Lylla rubbed his arm, and snuggled against the male again. Rocket rubbed her back and pulled her in close, allowing her to take in his body heat. Their heat simultaneously radiated together, nearly to the point where Rocket could've sweat, but he didn't. The raccoon leaned his face down, snaking his hands around her waist, causing Lylla to look up as his lips puckered against hers. She returned the exchange without protest, kissing him back quickly. She pushed herself between Rocket's legs, and the male allowed himself to freely fall onto his back on the bed. Lylla crawled up to him and kissed Rocket again, all while he held her waist.

Grunting, he felt her paw rub up his thigh near his sensitive area, and it tensed due to being touched their recently in the past few days. Rocket winced at this feel and looked up at Lylla, who suddenly took on a worried look. He reassured her with a smile and leaned back again. He allowed Lylla to slowly unzip the bottom part of his jumpsuit, and Rocket put back his head and grunted again as Lylla moved up to his lower half, which still had undergarments. She didn't move any further for a split second, seemingly satisfied with just seeing his bare legs and thighs this moment. "Do you want this?" She asked kindly and softly, looking up at the raccoon from where her face was, still appearing cautious at engaging in this sort of activity with him again.

Gulping, Rocket nodded, smiled lightly, then winced again as his parts became more hard. He saw Lylla smile back, then position her head near his undergarments. Her hand began to move them down. Rocket grunted pleasurably, closing his eyes tightly as he moved his paws around the back of Lylla's head to keep her in close, feeling her hot breath near his hips. The feeling was intense… it made him feel so excited, so alive…. He felt so close, but Lylla hadn't even started on him yet. Her breath traveled inward to the center of his lower half. Rocket didn't look. He wanted to feel it.

His sensitives hardened greatly, pulses of pleasure already making Rocket wince more. This was going to happen. Lylla was going to give him head.

_But what about Sam….._

It came flooding back to Rocket, right as her breath began to drive his unmentionables mad. "Stop!" he growled reluctantly, his head snapping as if suddenly shooting awake.

Lylla, close to making Rocket's pain disappear, paused and closed her wide open mouth. Rocket took his paws off her head, feeling his parts still pulse, begging for her oral presence again, allowing them to calm down. She looked up to Rocket, looking ready to speak, and looking very concerned. Instead, she stopped in mid-motion, and relaxed her face. "Rocket." She sighed, allowing him to sit up against the old bedframe. She scooted next to him, staying on her knees, and slowly placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

He closed his eyes again, hitting the back of his head lightly against the frame. Rocket put his arms down, readjusting his lower suit back on. "It's- just that-"

"It's Sam." Lylla took her hand off Rocket's shoulder. "That girl that you mentioned. You still haven't gotten over her." Her eyes relaxed. "You haven't made a choice."

"That's not the whole thing Lylla. She's pregnant."

Lylla gasped, and she stopped breathing for a moment. Rocket lowered his head and nodded again, knowing what she'd ask again. "Yeah. I know. It's messed up."

"I knew you'd been with Sam," Lylla slowly responded, "I heard things while I'd been possessed, and I knew….. then you said it hadn't worked out, and that you chose me, but this, Rocket? Sam being pregnant? This isn't something you can rewind and fix." Lylla scoffed, shaking her head the raccoon. "This is more serious than just a break up. I _know_ you understand that much at least," She very firmly replied, standing up from the bed, beginning to stare down at him.

"But what am I supposed to do?" Rocket tossed up his arms. "She hates my guts! And now… now I know you're alive, and it's not fair to you that I never remembered, and neither could you, and now I remember after I've had sex with Sam that you actually exist, and now she'll have my damn kid!" He huffed and scoffed to himself, rolling his eyes and smiling stupidly, before frowning immediately. He knew how rediciolous his speech sounded, but he continued anyway. "And I love you. But I love Sam. But she hates me. But she'll have my kid. But I still love you. But she'll still have my kid without a dad. But it's not fair to you if I choose Sam. It's not fair to her if I choose you."

"And it's not fair to her child that he or she will have to live without their father." Lylla pursued her lips together, closed her eyes, seemingly calming herself. "Rocket, you need to think these things through. You don't just choose to have oral sex with your girlfriend when you know your former partner is pregnant. That's called being selfish. And it's borderline with cheating."

Rocket nodded, clenching his teeth, and grasped his head with both paws. "I know, I know, I screwed up… Lylla, I'm sorry, okay?!" He looked up away from his paws, his eyes glittering with uncertainty and unhappiness. "I didn't mean to make it sound like cheating…. I'm sorry. You deserved to know she was pregnant, but I just…. I love you. I can't help it." Rocket's closed his eyes again tightly, and his head drooped again like a flowers' petals. "It hurts…." The raccoon said in a quitter voice, "and it's not fair to me, Lylla. I lost you because Astroli-asshole took my memories. And I had no way to know you existed until I saw you, and by that point me and Sam were a thing… it was too late."

The words must've hit Lylla with realization. The otter softened her stern gaze, and sat down next to Rocket. She reached out a paw and began to lightly rub his back. "You….. have a point," she bluntly stated, looking down at the ground. "I don't think it's fair either, believe me. You didn't ask for this. None of us did. Not Ranger, not me, not you… not Sam." She stopped rubbing and removed her hand from Rocket's back, but kept sitting close to him. "Rocket, I won't lie to you, because you know me well enough to know that I can't lie to you. I know I can't make you choose. I realize that you're just as much a mammal as I am, and mammals make mistakes. Mammals have feelings. You're in love with me, but you're also in love with Sam, and for good reasons on both sides. But this child that Sam will conceive? It is not an illusion. It's reality. And it's not going away. Even though I can't make your choices for you, Rocket, I'm still going to tell you what I think you should do: Stay with Sam. Be in love with her, even if she won't love you back. Take care of her child, and raise it, loving it just as much as you would with me, and protecting it as you would with Sam."

Rocket sighed heavily, and slowly began to shake his head, but Lylla continued anyway.

"I'll still be in love with you no matter what choice you make. That will never change. I know I can't alter your feelings either. But until you decide, Rocket, we cannot be like this together. It will only create more friction between your relationship, if you intend on having one with Sam, and will infuriate her. I don't want to inflict any more damage than I already have." Lylla shook her head after finishing her sentence.

Rocket inhaled shakily and exhaled cooly, nodding his head in reply. "B- but what should I do?"

"Do what you'd do with me. Talk to her." Lylla counseled, "I'll go with you."

"Are you kidding?" Rocket frowned at her. "Lylla, I know you have an idea of what she's like. She'll freak if she sees you-"

"And I'm willing to accept what she has to say. I don't have to fire back do I?" Lylla calmly inquired with a shrug.

Not believing he was about to do this, Rocket stood up and nodded again. "Right…. let's get this out of the way."

* * *

Rocket walked into the room where he'd last rendezvoused with the group. Ranger was not sitting around like he had been the last time they'd walked in, and Sam was not either. He examined all the empty chairs and the small leather booth-like seat, then looked around to the other two doors, which were unlocked.

He almost felt like turning to Lylla for guidance, if not for a small giggle he heard coming from the room on the right.

"Stop it, someone will hear us," the feminine voice faintly stated from inside the room.

"Not if we're quiet," a rough male voice responded.

Rocket's ears rose to incredible lengths. He couldn't believe what his hearing was processing, and just by the sound of their voices, he knew who it was, and what was possibly happening. He stormed down towards the door, pressed the button on the panel to open it.

It slithered open, revealing an image that raised Rocket's anger and attention levels through the roof. Ranger. Leaning on Sam. On a bed. Their mouths were pressed tightly together, and Ranger, Rocket's own brother, was already touching her lower body with his paws in attempt to get her suit off. Their boots were tossed off in a heap next to the bed, and Ranger's quiver pack and bow was left leaning against a box on the floor, with Sam's rifle.

Rocket didn't need to do the math for this one. He knew that they were kissing, or making out, to use the correct crude term for this situation.

Sam smiled as Ranger parted his mouth from hers, but Ranger himself rose his head out of surprise at seeing Rocket's appearance. He smiled with equal joy, and chuckled at Rocket's appearance. "Ah... brother, I see you've come to be our audience. Tell you what, you know how to pick your friends, she's a keeper!"

That was what he had to say? Out of all things Rocket heard, this was what his brother had to say about Sam? This was what he thought of her? Some little slutty toy?

"Get off her. Now," Rocket demanded, beginning to shake visibly with anger.

Ranger cocked his head to the side, slowly sitting up from the bed. He looked from Lylla to Rocket, looking confused. "Whoa…. brother, you okay there? What's up?"

"Get away from her," Rocket ordered once more, gritting his teeth together, "I won't ask again."

Again, Ranger still seemed a little puzzled about his brother's anger. He looked to Sam, who appeared to glare at Rocket for interrupting their little moment, then took a hint and looked back to Rocket, then smiled. "Ah…. I see what you're mad about. You and Sam…. you weren't just friends at some point," Ranger laughed, looking back and forth, "am I right?"

No one spoke a word, probing Ranger to speak again. "Let me spell it out for you brother," he said, standing up calmly, walking towards Rocket with raised hands.

"No, _you, _let _me _spell it out for you," Rocket interrupted, growling within his throat, walking up to Ranger until they were nearly touching noses. "You stay the hell away from Sam. If you don't, you are not going to like the other side of me, and you _know, what happens then." _

Ranger scoffed, chuckling more, seemingly allowing a fake smile to form on his face. "Now, see, that's where you're wrong…. see, as far as I can tell from the little glare this beautiful creature is giving you, she clearly is not interested in you anymore. And you and Lylla, from what we've seen, is into you again, and you seem to feel the same. Since I rescued you, and you rescued me, I say we're even…. you get Lylla, and I get Sam." He grinned, raising his eyebrows up and down. "See? Doesn't that sound like a win-win?"

"No." Ranger dropped his grin at the sound of Rocket's response. The smaller raccoon looked up at Ranger with a dangerous feral gaze. "I'll lay down a few ground rules, in case they haven't gotten through your plum-sized brain…. your dick stays out of Sam. Your hands stay off her, and your mouth doesn't move in her direction… or I break all three of the mentioned parts. Doesn't that sound like a win-win?" Rocket coldly responded.

"You'd better watch your tone and remember who you're speaking to, little brother," Ranger chuckled, smirking down at Rocket, stepping forward a bit, pushing him backwards. "I make the rules, not you…. and I saved your arse, so show some gratitude for once, and learn to deal with rejection. Sam. Does not. Like you. Deal with it." He spat into Rocket's face a little more viciously.

Rocket shoved him back with his paw, exerting surprising amounts of force on his larger brother's chest, pushing him against the bed. Ranger stumbled back and caught himself on the sheets, growling at Rocket, his fur prickling with annoyance. "Are you kidding me?" Rocket said quietly, deadpanning his brother. "Are you kidding me?!" he said much louder this time, "we're sitting here, when Astroliopa has Peter, Gamora, Groot, Drax, _my friends, _and has the orb, and you're sitting here worrying about having sex? Worried about banging _my _girlfriend? Are you shitting me?!"

"What can I say? The urge is still there Rocket. Always has been," Ranger huffed with a shrug.

He stopped. Rocket looked ready to speak, but closed his mouth, then frowned, speaking in a very small voice, gradually building up with his disbelief. "You….. you never did get better, did you? You lied to him. You told the shrinks you felt better. Said you didn't have the urge anymore. You showed them you were improving, but you _lied _didn't you? Just so they could let you out? But on the inside, you had the urge. You never lost your O.S.C.D. You still have it."

Ranger shrugged lightly in admission. "Yeah. I lied. What'd you except? The urge _never, never, _goes away, Rocket. It's called Obsessive Sexual Compulsive Disorder for a reason. But I had to get out. I needed to be able to work without the shrinks breathing down my neck, to live my life. So I had to lie. There was no other way out. You think anything the shrinks tried to do, abstinence practices, manipulating my brain, keeping me busy, helped me at all? No. They didn't do shit. I still wanted it. I still craved it, no matter how hard I kept myself occupied!" Ranger explained outloud.

Rocket narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "You're sick. You're crazy…. The shrinks could've helped you. You just needed to stay a little longer…"

"You know that's not true, Rocket!" Ranger stated, pointing at Rocket with his paw, "don't you even think about trying to stay on their side, because you know it's B.S!"

"That's what you think. But you needed the help. And you didn't stay," Rocket insisted.

"Whatever! I'm done with Halfworld, and I'm done with the shrinks!" Ranger shouted. "I'm done, okay!? If I want to wait to do stuff, I will wait, if I want to get laid, I will get laid! I have my friends, and that's all that matter to me right now! Not some damn pack of stubborn, worthless outlaws…."

Rocket's eyes widened with disbelief at what he'd just referred to his friends as. "You self-centered prick….." he snarled, "that's all you care about, isn't it? You don't care about my friends. You don't care about me. You don't give a shit about anything except yourself! That's all you ever cared about!" Rocket rose his voice. "All you ever did was do shit to me that ticked me off, and it never ended! You didn't know when to freakin' stop!"

"Don't!-" Ranger shouted above Rocket, pointing at him with another directed glare, his tail swatting the air furiously, "- even **_think, _**about going there. Don't you **_dare say that I was self-centered!" _**Ranger stormed up to his brother and stared down at him with barred teeth, spitting at his face as he finished his sentence. "I was the diversion that day, I was the one who risked it all so you and Lylla could escape, I was the reason that Astroliopa didn't shove his entire **_taskforce, _**up your ass, trying to kill you! I put my life on the line so you could leave this hellhole and make a living! So try showing some damn gratitude for once! I _saved your life! YOUR LIFE, Rocket!" _

"Gratitude?" Rocket scoffed, snickering to himself and smiling sarcastically. "So let's see…. You've tormented me as a kid. You've lied about actually not being a sexual maniac anymore. You did everything you did to me for your personal gain… and you didn't care. And now you're calling my friends 'worthless?' You're calling my best friends worthless, when they're stuck in a dang fortress, when I just helped save _your ass? _And now you want to have sex with _my _girl?" Rocket stepped up, chest to chest with Ranger. "I don't have one damn thing to thank you for. You've made my life nothing but crap."

"I'm the whole reason you exist you dumbass!" Ranger spat back into his face. "I provided for you every time you needed something. When you wanted food? That was me. When you wanted water? That was me. When you needed someone to talk to? That was me. When you wanted backup? That as me. Yes, I might have treated you like crap before…. But what do you want me to say? 'I'm sorry you can't take a damn joke? I'm sorry you can't actually recognize when someone has been there for you your whole life?'" Ranger snickered, turning around to face Sam. He walked over to her. "And you know that I'm really sorry for, lil' brother? I'm sorry you can't deal with getting rejected, since you're a little ignorant piece of shit. Looks like you need to learn to deal with it…" He pressed his lips down to Sam's.

Rocket growled furiously and lunged at Ranger straight ahead, tackling the large raccoon off the bed and onto the ground. He drew back his fist and punched him in the face, then again, and again, but Ranger headbutted him next to him. Growling louder than Rocket had, Ranger hopped onto Rocket's chest and punched him in the face. Rocket felt the blow loosen a tooth in his mouth, but he wasn't ready to stop yet. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Ranger's arm, and punched his brother in the eye, giving him enough time to propel around Ranger, and onto his back. Rocket forced him onto the ground using his weight, and began to recklessly punch him in the back of the head, scratching him with his claws and all, not stopping to realize the grisly damage he was inflicting on his head. "Don't you dare touch her like that again!" He roared into his brother's ear, huffing in between his bared teeth as he viciously punched him again.

Ranger slammed his head back into Rocket's own head, knocking the smaller raccoon onto his back. Rocket, dazed, saw stars for a few moments, but he sat up and took another swing at Ranger's already bloodied mouth, but Lylla had already grabbed Rocket from behind to get him out of the way. Ranger advanced on Rocket, his eyes lit up with fury. "**_I'm going to kill you!_**" He shouted at Rocket.

"**_Come on then!" _**Rocket taunted, spitting blood at him from the small gap that Lylla _had_ created between both him and Ranger.

"Stop it, both of you!" Lylla suddenly yelled, shoving Rocket a good few feet away from Ranger. Ranger stopped advancing at the sound of her voice, and so did Rocket, but they both glared at each other, huffing, their faces badly bruised and torn from their escalation. "This is ridiculous! Can you both just_ please, please, _stop fighting for once in your life, and start focusing on what actually matters? Astroliopa still has the orb, Grimlock is still alive- not to mention his whole taskforce- and they're hunting us down with everything they have…. And yet you two idiots are sitting here tearing each other up like barbarians and little children over what? Things that happened in the past. Issues that existed 2 years ago. Sam and myself." Lylla stalked past Ranger to Rocket, then looked back to Ranger, and stood in the center between then both. "Ridiculous," she stated again, shaking her head. "I'll tell you what needs to happen:"

Ranger found that Lylla's finger was pointed towards him. "You need to stop instigating," she commanded, then moving her finger to Rocket, "and you need to stop starting things. Guys, I know you're both brothers, but there comes a time when you both need to stop _arguing, _like brothers, and to start _working together, _like adult brothers. You never solve anything when you argue. All you do is make more room for new problems to arise, and make things worse. It creates unneeded tension." Lylla sighed loudly with an enormous huff. "As for relationships…. It's clearly been made obvious that they can't happen. Yet. There are arguments within our group about this, and we have to be able to solve this without this tension building up. Ranger, until we deal with Astroliopa, you know what needs to happen. Lay off."

"What?" Ranger laughed falsely. "I wasn't aware there was a rule where we couldn't kiss a girl we just met."

"Now there is. So deal with it," Lylla ordered, "it's just for now, Ranger, until we figure out this…." she looked to Rocket out of the corner of her eye, "mess."

Ranger shrugged. "But she's really nice…" he grinned at Rocket, who growled inwardly at him.

"Ranger, you know what I'm going to say. Cut it out. Now," Lylla snapped.

"Fine…." Ranger sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. "I'll be a good boy," he snickered, stalking out of the room away from Sam.

"Rocket, you too. Go," Lylla told him. Her voice was now coated with something vicious, something that made her eyes stare at Rocket with a very negative glimmer…. and with small tears. He realized why this was… he'd stood up for Sam.

Rocket felt less angry than before. He nervously looked up into her eyes. "Lylla, look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like-"

"Rocket, it doesn't matter anymore. Just go," she said a little more bitterly.

Once the raccoon had left the room, Lylla looked to Sam, who sat on the bed, with a hand on her hip.

"You're Sam, if I'm not mistaken? The one who Rocket spoke of?" Lylla asked in a rather calm and tranquil voice.

Sam nodded. "And you're Lylla."

Lylla also nodded. "I am. And I made those two leave because we need to talk."


	33. The Emperor

**A/N Okay... my excuse is the length of this chapter. XD Longest one yet. Enjoy the story. This took a lot of thought and a lot of work. More action to come during the last few concluding chapters.**

* * *

**Chapter 33: The Emperor**

* * *

"Hey," Rocket said, sitting next to Ranger.

Ranger kept his knees hugged up near his chest, sitting against the wall. "Hey." He acknowledged without turning his head.

"You don't have to say nothin' man. I just came here to…. _apologize, _for trying to beat your ass," Rocket slowly continued.

Ranger shook his head. "Why are you apologizing?" He frowned, turning his head to Rocket.

"I know it doesn't matter to you….. I mean, you don't care about half of the things I say anyway," Rocket carelessly muttered, "but I followed you because I do need to apologize for being a thorn in your side. Plus, you did save my life. And I wouldn't be here without you, whether I would like to admit it or not."

"No idiot, I don't mean that!" Ranger's tail tickled the tip of Rocket's nose as it swayed with annoyance, and the fur around his face prickled as he facepalmed. "I mean _why _are you apologizing when you don't have anything to apologize for?" He looked away from Rocket and sighed. "I was an asshole. It's a good thing you punched me if anything. We're good, honest."

"No we're not," Rocket insisted solemnly, "you kidding me? I tackled you to the ground and beat you up over what? Some girl? And you're saying we're good, _just like that?" _He lazily showed his palm for emphasis and gaped his mouth ajar.

His long eyelashes which protected his eyes blinked once, than twice as Ranger scoffed in his younger brothers' direction. He cocked his head around as if his spinal cord were rotating on an axis, cracking his neck. "Well…. I dunno' lil' brotha', what do ya expect me to do? Punch you?"

Rocket's expression lite up at the suggestion, and he relaxed his face with a shrug. "Actually, that would make me feel a little more at ease about this whole thing…."

Ranger propelled his fist forward using the power his of bulky shoulder to drive it into Rocket's forearm. Rocket yelped as spikes of soreness and discomfort followed after Ranger's punch, and he began to rub his arm, while cautiously bending away from his brother's reach.

"Ow….. I didn't mean literally you dumbass!" Rocket glared at him for executing the aforementioned proposal.

Ranger shrugged. "Hey, you said you'd feel better. Your words, not mine." He then grinned. "You know…" The long haired raccoon placed both of his tiny fists together and held the tops of his paws, while pulling them outward to crack them. "That actually felt pretty good. I think I'll do it again." He rose his fist, making Rocket flinch, then laughed at his state of fright. "Na. I'm just kidding."

"Ass." Rocket maintained with a light-hearted gaze of sternness

"Although I am the 'Awesome Superior Sibling', I think it's safe to say that the apple doesn't fall from the tree?" Ranger phrased, raising his eyebrows more than once at Rocket, crossing his arms.

Appearing offended, Rocket gaped his mouth and gasped loudly, placing his hands to his heart. "Me? Never! I'm the nicest guy I know!" He proudly proclaimed.

His brother simply deadpanned him. "Really?" He sounded extraordinarily unconvinced.

Rocket's positive attitude barely diminished or faltered, except his little ears. "Well…. okay, I do say things that rub some people the wrong way, but I only use my mouth when it's necessary."

"Or when you just feel like it."

"Exactly." Rocket smiled. "But admit it…. you could never talk to a girl like me." The smile turned into a grin.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ranger began waving his paws even before Rocket had fully finished his sentence. "Little brother, that's territory you don't want to go into. You had Lylla wrapped around your fingers when you guys were only two years old. By the time you were an adult, she was all over you. You got the easy way to a girl because she actually liked you. Lylla's the only sort of girl you know right now. But me? I've met plenty of gals."

"And learned nothing about them… except for what's underneath their pants of course," Rocket snickered.

Ranger rose an eyebrow. "Hey… don't tell me you weren't the least bit interested in getting a piece of Lylla. I know you tapped her butt the first day you met her…. And you weren't even an adult then."

"Actually, I tapped her twice." Rocket hid the sly smile that tried to form on his face. "And at least I made it look like an accident. You were sloppy. Plus, Lylla liked it."

"Eh… it's whatever," he mumbled with a directed glance at Rocket. "Hey, now that we're on the subject, if you're so interested in Lylla, than why did you get defensive 'bout that raccoon gal?"

It was then that Rocket found himself explaining the whole story to Ranger, starting with him losing his memory, building up to the struggle he faced now. Now that he was repeating this story for a second time, Rocket realized he had the chance to explain it in more detail for once. He told how he felt on the inside, what he'd _almost _done with Lylla a few minutes ago, and how he'd ended up stumbling upon Ranger and Sam's little scene. By the time he'd finished, Ranger's stance and demeanor had gone from curious and happy to troubled and worrisome. His brother's eyebrows faltered, and he leaned in a little more intently, clearly taking a more serious interest in Rocket's problem than he had since the beginning of the conversation. He nodded at the points that Rocket made, keeping solid eye contact to show that he was listening.

As Rocket ended his last sentence, Ranger nodded again and scratched the back of his head, his eyes indicating that he looked bothered.

"Damn…. so you're saying she's pregnant?" Rocket nodded, and Ranger seethed inward through his teeth as if recoiling at the painful feel of touching a stove. "That's…. not good. Complicates things…. but not just that. How did you even manage to cause her to get pregnant… I mean… you don't have the… stuff." Ranger gulped. "You know what I mean."

Rocket shrugged. "I didn't think so either. That's what I'm trying to find out, but from what our two lovely bosses have been saying lately, I figure all they did was 'accidently,' quote on quote-" he made emphasis with his paw fingers, "damage the production rate of that aforementioned 'stuff.' And yet every physician I've met in my line of work has told me during my examination that I couldn't have kids. That it's not possible. That it's _unlikely. _That was what they'd say. _Nearly impossible." _Rocket chuckled. "And yet here I am." He sat up against the wall more and let his short furry legs splay out lazily in diagonal directions, while his back propped him upward. "I don't know what to do Ranger. I've thought about it, I really have, but every solution sounds like the shitest idea in the history of shity ideas. I can't get a happy ending with this. At least not entirely."

Rangers shook his head in agreement. "No, you can't." He established thoughtfully. His eyes remained in the same attentive trance, until he spoke again. "Look, I'm probably the worst bloody person to give you advice like this, but I'm going to tell you what I think you should do. 'Way I see it, there's three ways this can end, and that's a _maybe three. _You choose Lylla, Sam gets off your sodding case. Two, you choose Sam, and Lylla willingly backs down. Three…. Three is ya don't choose either of them."

"And what should I do?"

His older brother shrugged. "Think about this carefully... you've got yourself Sam, who's going to have one or more of your sons or daughters in a matter of _at the most, _5 months. What do you think will happen if you choose Lylla? What'll happen to Sam then? You've got to consider how she'll deal with rejection. If she leaves, there won't be a father to protect 'em kids when she has 'em. You choose Sam and she stays… there's still a problem. You runnin' with these outlaws, Rocket? How safe do you think she'll be? Do you really think Sam's going to last five months without getting tossed around, even during her early stages of pregnancy when she doesn't have that big belly? And sure, you might hide her somewhere, keep her at the ship…. but what happens if there's an intruder? What happens if she has to defend herself in the state she's in, but she's unable to? But…" Ranger paused, catching his breath, raising his eyebrows again at Rocket, "Okay, let's say she does manage to give birth to her kids. What then? You just become, 'Babysiters of the Galaxy?' Do any of you even know the first bloody thing about takin' care of kids, Rocket? Because I guarantee you that I sure as hell ain't in any condition or the right mental state to be a blasted father…. Even though I possibly very well could be a father at this very moment," he added with a murmur, before continuing, "'point is, I know what you're going to say. You don't know how to take care of them. And remember, _you're _the father. Somehow, I don't think Sam would appreciate you not helping her take care of her kids. Even if you do manage to get them through being a lil' thumb-sucking maggot, how are you going to give them a proper life? They've grown up only being around people like you…. and from what I've seen, you're Guardian friends are some pretty odd lads and lasses. What'll happen to their education? Their social skills?"

Rocket sighed loudly, frustratingly gripping his head with both paws. "Okay, I get it… but that's the problem! It's not fair to Lylla! I was with her to begin with…. then all this shit with Astroliopa started, and we tried to escape, and you were captured, and Lylla was captured, and then the memory crap started…." The raccoon tightly closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly, trying to control himself, so he wouldn't fall apart. "Then I had sex with Sam… and _this, _happened. I finally remembered Lylla. Right afterwards. Talk about whooptie-friggin-do for _timing!"_

"But you need to think about what happens if you stay with Lylla," Ranger continued, "lil' brother, I know you love that girl like nobody's business, but you already made this happen with Sam. This really, _really, _sweet relationship you guys probably had going on. You shouldn't try to walk away from it just because Lylla's here now. You have a kid…. or more, to protect, and that's what you should be worrying about. Not running from it. And the way I see it, you shouldn't throw away what you already have with Sam just to be with Lylla again. Whether she wants ta' love ya or not, I would stay with Sam. You might not see it, and she sure as heck might not, but she _needs you _with _her._ But you're going to have to make a choice in the end if you do stay with her: Stay with the Guardians, or don't."

Rocket didn't enjoy admitting people were right, but in this situation, his brother was. Something had to give. Since when were the Guardians of the Galaxy in any position to be proper parent figures? _Never, of course, _Rocket's answer would be. Still, the prospect of leaving Lylla couldn't cross Rocket's mind in a heartbeat. _How _could he betray her, _how _could he betray the entire team of friends he'd learned to live with and love throughout this year of his life?

"I'll think about it. Thanks." He smiled softly at his brother. "You know, I don't like saying this often, but you really are one of the only people I can appreciate for at least twenty-four hours."

Ranger chuckled. "I hope so. Or I might end up nailing your ass later… or not. Chances are I'll get nailed too."

He would've laughed… except Rocket realized what he was joking about, and immediately perished the idea of amusement. "You'll be fine. We're all going to get out together. Alive."

"I'm not so sure." Ranger moved onto one knee, still propping himself against the wall, chuckling again at the ground. "Think about it. The place is packed with soldiers… all of 'em workin' for Astroliopa. Plus you've got ol' Grim and his cyborg buddies…. and who knows what else waitin' for us. Not to mention we don't even know exactly how to kill Astroliopa… damned tyrant," he murmured, "but hey, if it came down to you and me… it'll be me. I'll sacrifice everything if it means that everything in that asshole's lair will burn, including him."

"You won't have to. 'Cuz we're coming out of that burned hole without a scratch. _All of us," _Rocket maintained.

At a time with conditions present like this, Rocket would've expected more protests from him. Only, Ranger did what he least likely anticipated him to do, and placed a paw on Rocket's shoulder. His paw was covered in a thick, black, leather glove, which appeared to just tightly fit his paw at the right length. He squeezed his brother's shoulder, causing the glove to squeak silently from being strained by his fingers pulling forward. Ranger gave him a gentle smile and blinked again, then laughed.

"And here I thought I was the stubborn one."

Rocket smiled back. "Someone's got to be. I guess you just rubbed off on me while I was gone."

"I changed that much, huh?"

"Not really," Rocket admitted, "you're still the same dumbass… just with grayer fur," he teased with a smirk, making Ranger raise his fist playfully.

"Hey…. I might be seven years old, but I'm not considered old yet! I'm still middle-aged, so watch it!" he warned Rocket, beholding a similar smile to his brother's.

"Alright, alright, chill!" Rocket giggled, feeling a moment as if he were two again, even though he was closing in on seven in a few months. His brother lowered his fist, and Rocket sighed out of relaxation. "Well would you look at that? We're actually bonding for once!" He sarcastically pointed out, recalling Astroliopa's lecture that one day…

At this, both Ranger and Rocket began laughing hysterically.

* * *

"I have heard about your situation," Lylla commented to start off, breaking the silence between them, her blue eyes barely blinking, keeping a content look with Sam. "And I hope you know, I wish I could say I know how you feel, but I cannot say such things because I would be lying. I truly do not know what a woman in your position feels like. I can only sit and imagine."

Breathing in through her nostrils, the creature that heavily resembled Rocket gave a slow nod, her gaze appearing cautious about Lylla's appearance in front of her now. "Then thank you for not pretending that you understand," she said in what nearly became a whisper voice.

"I do, however, understand how you feel when it comes to Rocket. That's what you resent me for, isn't it? How I feel about Rocket?" Lylla inquired, lowering her tone so it appeared less demanding and more of a question. "Or is it more or less how Rocket feels about _both _of us?"

Sam said no other word to answer either question, at least not immediately. She looked up to Lylla, then broke off eye contact, both of her beady eyes appearing distant from the female otter.

"It's okay to be angry with me," Lylla reassured her in a calm voice. "I understand how you must feel, finding out that Rocket had another other than you that he loved. You must feel frustrated that I am in your way, and that's understandable."

Sam's reflexes suddenly came to life and she looked over to Lylla, her eyes narrowing. "It's not you that I'm angry with. It's Rocket. I saw how he felt about you when we were rescuing Ranger. He loved _you, _not me, and he didn't have the guts to admit it to me. It's that simple, case closed."

Lylla shook her head, blinking steadily as the frustrated mammal lowered her face away from Lylla toward the ground. She was sulking, still, Lylla noticed. "You poor thing," she softly said. "I'm sorry that you had to run into this. Rocket should've never remembered who I was. It interrupted his new life, and what he established within it. But understand… I can't help what I said or did while I was brainwashed. That was _not, _me talking, in any shape or form," Lylla very firmly put forward, "And I'm telling you this because I know that that is where your separation with Rocket first began."

Looking shocked at Lylla's explanation, and also outraged, Sam gaped her mouth and promptly closed it, before glaring deeply at the female. "But _you kissed Rocket, _right after you were changed back. That means that _you __**love, **_Rocket. And don't you dare try to deny that." Sam was leaning into her direction now, her paws clenched tightly with anger, and her mouth curled up with her nose as if she had smelt a garbage truck recently.

"Okay…" Lylla then crossed her arms, her ears flicking back a bit, and her eyebrows and shoulders raising up briefly. "I do," she admitted without a moment of hesitation, making Sam blink. "I love Rocket more than any man in this universe. More than my own family, and trust in me when I say this, my love for my family is very deep, if that provides a good enough comparison for you. And I kissed Rocket… that one time, because I could not contain myself. And I apologize to you for that, because that was not a courteous way to go about things." Lylla shrugged again. "Anyhow, I'm going to make the assumption that you feel the same about him. And judging from the look in your eyes, its' evident that you are jealous of my affections for him, which is a reasonable reaction."

Sam laughed half-heartedly and smiled coldly, managing to look at Lylla's eyes again. "So? If you love him so much, why aren't you jealous of me? You've already got him wrapped around your fingers, why bother to deal with me? I am in the way after all. You have plenty reason to be jealous."

"Is that why you think I pulled you over? So I could convince you to back off from Rocket so I can have him all to myself?" Lylla kept her arms crossed, her expression still intact and content.

"That's what it sounds like you're implying." Sam's voice grew more irritated.

"Oh? Than let me cut to the chase. The way I am interpreting this goes as follows: Rocket is struggling to choose between us because he believes it is unfair that he had his memory stolen from him, and ended up in a relationship with you, even though he was still technically in a relationship with me. When he regained his memory, his love for me- reignited, you could say. However, his love for you also remained. And I can comprehend his inner battle. It's unfair to leave you, because he's already established his relationship with you. It's unfair to go with her, because he would be abandoning what Rocket and I already had _before _you and Rocket were romantically involved."

Sam chuckled. "As far as I can tell, he's already picked you. He loves you, and that's all I need to know. I can't be in love with him if he can't choose."

"Even if you're going to have a child soon?" Sam perked up at hearing this. "Yes, I am aware of it. Rocket has told me what you told him." Lylla nodded as she said this. "Sam, I'll lay this out as best as I can. My love for Rocket is great, but since I've had time to look at it, I've realized that there are some things that are not meant to be. It is not fair that you and Rocket's relationship has brought you to here, and it's not right that I have created a bump in between you both. What you've built up together is beautiful, and it should not be stopped just because Rocket has remembered me. If anything, our relationship ended the moment Astroliopa stole our memories from us. And this child, or these children you're going to have Sam? These are Rocket's! He's the father of your children! You need him to be there for them. You cannot do this on your own, no matter how tough you think you are!"

"I can take care of myself… I don't need _his _help, and I can take care of my kids myself," she bitterly stated.

"Sam. Don't be stubborn. You have two choices right now. Believe me when I say this, you do _not, _want to leave Rocket and his friends and attempt to survive on your own. That is the last choice you want to make. If you walk out that door, you are easily signing your own death warrant without the proper funds to support you and your children. You are walking out on a raccoon who _loves __**you, **_Sam. Rocket is still in love with you, you forget that. I have told Rocket what he should do, and I will tell you that in just a moment. But first I need you to understand something: I will **_never, _**come between you and Rocket, if you intend on a relationship with him. Although I can't mask or hide my feelings I will still have for him, just know that you deserve to be with him. Don't let my appearance discourage you from being in love with him." Lylla counseled.

Sam's head faltered again, and she appeared to ponder this, and her words. "But… he can't decide. How can I trust what he says? I want to love him, I still do, but Rocket's just…. I just- I can tell if he's telling the truth anymore."

"Trust him because you love him. Give him a chance. Give him time to let go of me." Lylla told her, "he's going to have to, especially if I tell him that I am letting go." Lylla paused, seeing Sam nod, then continued with her next sentence.

"Now…. my piece of advice for you is this: Choose Rocket. Stay with him. Embrace his affections. However, there is one thing that may be difficult for Rocket, one thing that I fear he may have trouble doing, but believe me, it will benefit you both greatly."

"What is it?"

Lylla gulped. "You and Rocket need to leave the Guardians of the Galaxy. Together, to begin a new life."

* * *

As Peter was forced onto his knees, he found himself not feeling as fortified as he had when he attempted to protect his friends. Not that he was concerned for their status. He knew they were likely to be alive, but his hopes were sunk when he thought about _who _it was that was alive. Three raccoons and an otter? What could they do to rescue him? Without his team, Rocket was likely to be in a difficult situation. Peter could only visualize his pain. That raccoon was not one to enjoy being placed in stressful circumstances. Although he was smart, he couldn't put his intelligence to use without the right crew.

The terran could only hope that Rocket could make a good team out of his new friends. Hopefully they were close by now…. but who was he kidding? By the time they got here, chances were Astroliopa or Grimlock were going to do something with the orb that likely meant world domination.

"Greetings Starlord," Drax spoke out of the blue.

Peter turned to the large red man who was placed onto his knees next to him. On the other side of him, Gamora was brought to her knees. Groot, after much visible protest was forced onto his knees as well next to Gamora.

Gamora smiled visibly, and Peter examined the enormous handcuffs that bound Gamora's wrists together.

"No fancy tricks for you I guess, eh?" Peter chuckled.

The green alien sighed and shook her head. "You have no idea. It completely immobilizes your hands. Can't get the damn things off without a tank. I try to move them too much and I get shocked. I can't exactly engage either… unless I'd like to lose my hands."

For a moment, the terran actually pitied her, realizing he only had regular handcuffs on. "Well aren't you the special one?" he commented, smirking.

"You're lucky I can't hit you," Gamora sternly threatened.

He shrugged. "I guess I am." He looked past Gamora to Groot, leaning back so he could see the tree. "Got any bright ideas big guy?" He called out to him.

Groot slowly shook his head, gesturing down to the cuffs, then shrugging.

Gamora looked to Peter after seeing Groot's expression. "I still can't understand him. But I've figured out the problem… I think, although it took a lot of interrogating."

"What's wrong?"

"He's knows who Astroliopa is. Unfortunately, so does Astroliopa. Groot and Rocket's memories were both wiped before they left their planet…. but anyhow, this man knows Groot's biological structure very well it seems. Somehow, he's stunted Groot's growth by adding some sort of modification to his cuffs, halting all tree-growth within his limbs until the cuffs can be removed. No sort of life can be produced from him unless his restraints are fully removed, or unless the effects are lifted. Until then, Groot is restricted to his current form. He still has the same strength… but not enough to break from his handcuffs. It appears they're designed to both withstand his attempts and to escape and to stop him from creating anything else," Gamora explained.

"Well, I'd say we're ultimately screwed," Peter decided.

Gamora hesitantly nodded. "Unless Rocket has any bright ideas."

"He has his brother and Sam as far as I know… and some other girl. An otter, I guess. Don't know who she is." Peter admitted.

"An otter?" Gamora sounded surprised.

"Yeah. The one we saw that was brainwashed. I think she and Rocket have something going. That's all I know."

The assassin pondered this for a moment. She looked confused and lost when she opened her mouth to talk. "That doesn't add up. Sam was who Rocket was in love with. He didn't have another, did he?"

"Unless she were here since the beginning. Rocket did say he remembered a lot of things." Peter zoned out, staring at the wall. He drifted off into space, recalling the raccoon's little psycho moment when he threatened to blast their heads off when they hadn't caught Warren's killer. "But frankly, I don't know if he actually told us the _entire truth. _I can't figure it out anymore," Peter said, shaking his head still. "I'm not Rocket, so I can't say what's going through that little dude's head."

Astroliopa sat down in front of the group at the single desk that was in the room. "He's complicated. Always was," he told them while staring at Peter. "I know you've noticed it Peter," he said, raising his eyebrows slightly, pointing a finger lazily in his direction. "His outbursts. His paranoia. His anxiety." His head limply fell to look down at the desk. "It all goes back to when I chose him for the anthropomorphic transformation. Back when he was only a few human months old. There's a reason for why he is the way he is, and I'm sure Rocket had revealed only a few of the reasons why. But I know them all. Side effects. That's what it all came down to. When we drilled the name Rocket into his head…. we didn't realize what our technology was doing. He gained so many disorders afterwards…. ADHD. OCD. Aspergers. Bipolar disorder. Schizophrenia was the biggest problem out of all of them. I knew he had them while he'd turned a year old. It wasn't normal, the way he spoke, and acted…. he was too hyper for his age, couldn't focus, couldn't speak correctly, couldn't do simple tasks. He had emotional outbursts on occasion. And I needed to do something about it. Therapy wasn't helping. His older brother was unable to do much either. But no matter what I tried, no matter how many intelligence implants I administered, no matter what I used, it didn't last long. It didn't work. It was not an enduring solution."

"And making him the new terminator was?" Peter asked.

The farisada breathed in through his nose hard and exhaled. "I've said this many times, and I shall say it again: I don't like what was done, but I knew that I had no other options at that point. His brain was not functioning correctly, and it needed to be fixed. So we did the operation." Astroliopa explained. "And I discovered that there was a way to fix him. There was a way Rocket's performance could be improved, nearly to the extent where it was permanent. It all lies in one little device inside his head, which helps control the mental disabilities Rocket has. Think of it as a teacher fixing a room that kindergarteners are currently wreaking havoc on. The teacher has to get them all to stop using some sort of trigger, one that they will respond to… be it a loud smash of a ruler of textbook, yelling, or whatever method that may be. But sometimes that method doesn't quite work, and they will continue to unleash the chaos. So the teacher needs to go to more extreme and direct means of calming them down. The same principal applies to the little chip, which has been implanted into Rocket's brain. Picture it as I do: The chip is the teacher. The disorders are the kindergarteners. Rocket's brain is the classroom itself. The chip calms down the harmful effects that are altering how Rocket should and should not think. They soothe the problems that those little disorders are causing in his classroom, making it a quitter and safer environment. Without the chip, the children wreak havoc on his classroom. This is why I came up with the chip."

"But why the legs? Why the arms? Why make more than half of his body a damn machine? You didn't need it. _He _didn't need it. If you really wanted to help him, and all those other animals, you would've kept them as they were. Not make them some sort of twisted abominations that you can experiment on. You kept actual living beings in there. And for what? More experiments? Like Rocket?"

"Rocket was not an experiment!" Astroliopa maintained.

Peter squinted his eyes to slits and shook his head, scrunching his face up in confusion. "Really? It sure sounds like it."

"You misinterpret what you hear. I made him better, Peter. Besides, other complications arose… and I had no choice by the time I knew about them."

"What complications? What sort of complication stopped you from keeping your _son _the way he was?" Gamora chimed in, appearing eager to understand this man-like creature. Although concurrently, she was still just as irritated as Peter was when it came to the idea of changing Rocket into a robot on the inside.

Astroliopa turned away from Peter to look at Gamora. He regarded the assassin until Grimlock approached him from his right.

"Sir," the cyborg being addressed him firmly, hands behind his back and under his cape, "the emperor is ready to speak to you. He is requesting your presence now."

The farisada male nodded, crossing his arms, facing the large holographic screen that had automatically been produced on the wall over time. He noticed the large darkened room which had soldiers lined on both sides of the walls, ready to guard him if the need arises. Above, in the metal balconies, more soldiers were positioned. "Accept his call. Put him on the screen. Let's get this transaction over with," he said to Grimlock modestly.

While Grimlock began calibrating the projection, several other soldiers walked through a nearby automatic door, dressed in steel gold, spiked plating. It resembled knight armor, except the helmet was eerily familiar to the Kree version, except with spiky ears like an elf's.

"You are here with the terms we've discussed?" One of the golden soldiers inquired, facing Astroliopa with his pulse rifle raised toward the ceiling in one hand.

"Yes."

Peter shifted his weight, shuffling his knees across the ground forcefully so he could face his father. His lips parted slightly and his eyebrows appeared to flutter in a puzzled manner. "Emperor... what? What transaction?" When Astroliopa proceeded to continue working on the projector without answering Peter's question, he spoke louder. "Astroliopa, answer me! What are you giving him?! What are you doing?" Peter called out.

Astroliopa crouched down while he made one last adjustment to his bracer, electronic buzzes and beeps indicating new effects being produced. His shoulders lowered a bit after Peter spoke, and he began to shake his head. "I had no choice. It was the only way you'd end up being here. It was the only way I could get Rocket to come back. The only way I could get my daughter to return so I could get a chance to reconcile for what I did. For what I did to all of you. I was not intended to end this way. Not like this." He gazed from Peter to Gamora. "The complication I spoke of. It is the reason Rocket is alive. I had no choice." He returned his look to Peter, his eyes becoming more saddened. "And I have no choice at this moment."

Above them, a face began to appear on the wall, sizzling into view, bit by bit. It was a holographical blue, but Peter didn't need color to fit the pieces together properly. A well-defined face with a broad chin, his large nose sticking out from his gold helmet, and a sinister smile forming across his open mouth area. His eyes looking at the Guardians, and everyone in the room with such familiarity…. Peter was actually starting to get creeped out. Who was this guy, he had to wonder?

Gamora's reaction was the opposite. Her mouth gaped wide open at the image, and her eyes mimicked her mouth's increase in size. She exhaled out softly and shakily, and began to breath as slowly as possible. "No…. it can't be. It's not him," she whispered outloud, beginning to shake her head.

"Who?" Peter looked to Gamora, perceiving her terrified state of mind.

The figure on the screen smiled even wider. "Gamora…. my daughter. And the Guardians of the Galaxy. What a pleasant surprise today," his voice boomed even deeper than Grimlock's. An inhuman and stoic tone was audible in his voice.

It was in that moment of Peter's captivity that the human's anxiety began to do the opposite of subsiding. He stopped breathing and closed his mouth. His nostrils barely allowed a shallow amount of air to pass through them for fear that this titan would hear it. This man was not what Peter expected. Out of all enemies, he was the last one that any of the Guardians believed they'd encounter. As a matter of fact, he _was, _the very last villain they would want to come upon. Ronan's defeat had brought relief to them, but seeing this individual's appearance destroyed that sensation and brought only panic to his team's eyes.

This was _Thanos. _Master of Ronan the Accuser. Father of Gamora. Destroyer of armies, families, planets…. galaxies. Seeker of the orbs.

"Thanos!" Gamora called out, staying on her knees with her bound hands lowered. "You can't do this! I _know _what you plan to do! Don't make the same mistake you made with Ronan! No one is safe from the orb's corruption!" She shouted, beginning to rise, only to be shoved back onto the ground by two of Astroliopa's minions. "The orb will destroy you just like it did to Ronan!"

The bold titan slowly shook his head, rubbing his chin with a bulky hand which appeared from out of the screen's view. He continued sinisterly smiling. "Ronan's destruction was his own undoing. Mainly because of your Guardians of the Galaxy. Pathetic. I will not be stopped by a few mere mercenaries. And that was your first flaw, believing I would be discouraged by the existence of several rogue, trigger happy, insolent hooligans. Ronan's only mistake was that he became arrogant. He held the belief that he would destroy Xandara and defeat me himself. He was blind in the end to the impending threat that was thou…. The Guardians of the Galaxy." Thanos blinked, sitting back in what could be assumed to be a throne of some sort, placing his hands underneath his chin neatly. "Regardless, I am in no position to decline the danger your group poses to my plans now….. but Gamora, know this: Now, you shall _see for yourself, _the potential of my plans. You shall see why I have done what I have done. Why I took you from your family. Why I had that dumb brute's family eliminated in the first place," he added with a chuckle, glancing to Drax.

Drax, instead of going crazy as Peter expected him to, only glowered with burning hatred at the titan, his lips pursued together and his nose snarled up with disgust.

Thanos kept speaking. "And you shall see what I intend to do with not one orb…. but six. The orb of power is only one of many. Once I have located all six, the universe will be a much more prosperous place… one which will continue to prosper under my rule of course. The leaders of all of these planets do nothing for their nations. They only find more and more reasons to go to war. But with I, leading our universe, there shall be no more wars. No more rebellion. No more resistance. Our universe will be beautiful."

"That won't happen. Your idea of a universe is an empire that runs under one flag, while everyone else bends over to kiss your ass," Peter professed bluntly, shaking his head as he rose his voice to a louder level so Thanos could hear him clearly. "And I won't let that happen. You are _not _getting that orb, Thanos. No matter how strong your men, no matter how many of you there are, remember this: If you want to stop me, you're going to have to kill me. Because if you don't, I'm coming to put _your _titan ass in the ground."

"And try you may, Starlord," Thanos snickered, amused, as he linked his gaze with Peter, before glancing back to Astroliopa. "Now… as we had discussed before. The orb, old man. Show me it. We've given you the boy as you've requested, the extra troop battalions, and our personal word that you will be left untouched by my new nation. And you should find your new resources quite favorable to help sweeten our little deal."

"No!" Peter called out, struggling to move or stand due to the guard's extra resistance holding him back. "Dad! You can't do this! You have to shitting me! He'll kill us all if you give him the infinity stone!"

Astroliopa ignored him, producing the metal decorated orb from his cloak, nodding to Thanos, putting it in his view. "It's right here Thanos. But I want your _word, your word, _that will you never contact me or come to this place, and that you will not interfere with my affairs, or Halfworld's. They are their own independent nation. Not a part of yours."

"But of course." Thanos agreed in a calm voice, nodding back. "I would not enjoy the concept of harming my own brother after all, although you are a fool to not embrace my future nation's potential. I have no reason to keep Halfworld in my grasp or your puny lab. Keep it to yourself. I will see to it that your territory is untouched by my men."

"We are not in any way _brothers, _Thanos. Our bloodline means nothing when you are unable to trust your own family," Astroliopa sternly stated.

"The orb, Astroliopa?" Thanos reminded him questionably.

One of the golden attired guards stepped forward with his weapon lowered, a hand extended towards the farisada's direction. "We'll be taking that for the emperor."

"Don't do this!" Peter warned, seriously widening his eyes at his father. "Dad, you know what he's going to do when he gets that orb! Why are you doing this? You're going to kill everyone in the entire galaxy!"

"I made a deal. I have to honor it. I have no choice, regardless of what's at stake," Astroliopa told Peter without turning around.

"Even if it's the entire universe?" He tried to reason.

He didn't answer. The farisada, without a look or movement of hesitation, handed the orb which contained the infinity stone to the golden soldiers. One of the soldiers took the orb and showed it to the large screen overhead, earning a nod from Thanos' projection. "Excellent."

Astroliopa nodded back. "We've given you what you wanted. Now leave."

There was a tense second of silence. Thanos stared down at everyone below him, the Guardians, soldiers, Grimlock, Astroliopa. No one moved their lips to break the silence, and neither did the titan himself, whom everyone was waiting for to speak.

Peter glanced gravely from Guardian to Guardian. Groot and Drax kept their expressions fixed on what was happening, their eyes filled with anticipation, clearly trying to obtain a way to escape or interrupt this exchange. Gamora seemed to have a different attitude. Her head was lowered.

"You're a fool, shape shifter," she bitterly announced, staring at the ground in front of Astroliopa's boot heels.

Astroliopa looked back to her as she continued to talk.

Gamora laughed. "Do you realize what you have just done?" She smirked, shaking her head. "Do you believe that, _that titan, _will really leave you alone, and make his troops walk out of this place with the orb? Because if you do, you are incredibly misguided. I _know _Thanos. And I can tell you right now that he doesn't intend to let _anything _stand on its own, because that is considered a threat to his 'nation.' You've just sentenced us all to death, you damned idiot!" She rose her voice viciously, tossing her tangled, long, black hair aside. She was gritting her teeth now, shaking her head at the stupid excuse of a titan. "If Thanos really is your brother, you know what he will do next. He _will kill _every single one of us before he leaves this place."

"Nonsense. He wouldn't. He doesn't have enough strength to take me on, and he knows it," Astroliopa dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"Your arrogance will be the cause of your own downfall," Gamora predicted, looking to Thanos. "I know how this works Thanos!" She began to yell. "I've witnessed this same procedure in over thirty different village sieges I've participated in! Why don't you just end this already?! You're going to dispose of us anyway and you know it!"

The golden warriors who worked for Thanos continued holding the orb, calm and still. Thanos himself smiled at Gamora's outburst. "Dear Gamora… still so young, but so rebellious. It's a shame you've taken a similar path to the one that Nebula has chosen. You both made very severe mistakes… but yours is perhaps the most shocking of all. Betraying me for a band of mindless criminals when you could be ruling the world at my side? I find that even more pitiful."

"Criminals? You've killed and murdered billions, Thanos, including my parents. Does that make you much different from other criminals? We're nothing compared to you if anything," Gamora persisted, "Peter, Rocket, Drax, and Groot are the only family I've had. All you did was build my life up on lies so I could be your killing machine. That's all I was to you. Your servant, not your daughter. Why else would you have me risk my life all those times? You wouldn't have cared if I died. You would've found another little girl's parents to murder so you could claim her for yourself. So you can send them off to die too." Gamora finished. "So why don't you finish the job? Kill us right now! Come on Thanos!" She taunted, mouth wide open as she shouted.

"But killing you right now would ruin the anticipation," Thanos stated, ignoring her jeering. Putting on a more solemn expression, he looked to Astroliopa. "Besides, I have other matters to worry about. My daughter is not lying completely when she mentions this…. procedure, I have, Astroliopa."

"Oh?" The man cocked his head to the side. "I hope that includes commanding your men to vacate my property?

"Yes, yes, that will be done, don't be concerned. However, there are a few loose ends that my men need to tie up for me in this place…"

Loud shouts of mechanical beings and lifeforms alike burst from the metal room next door, followed by exchanges of rifle and plasma fire. A grenade exploded in the next door room, shaking the current room Astroliopa was in.

Astroliopa stepped back, regaining his balance, looking around in alarm. Grimlock remained surprisingly calm, not reacting to the situation as if it were something he'd expect to happen. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced back up to Thanos. "I am hoping those are not your men I am listening to Thanos."

As if to respond to his threat, the lines of Kree soldiers that were originally there to guard Astroliopa turned their weapons on the farisada. Still, Grimlock remained calm, while his master looked around wide eyed. "What the….." He drifted off in disbelief, perplexed.

"The arrangement was that I would leave… that part I did not lie to you on," Thanos began calmly, "however…. I am afraid that I cannot allow you, or your son, to remain alive. That, and the fabled 'Guardians of the Galaxy' are considered dangerous, and must be exterminated. Therefore, as Emperor Thanos of our beloved universe, I sentence you, brother, and all who reside here, to **_death._**"

"Wha- this is an outrage!" Astroliopa shouted, withdrawing a small black baton from his clock. "Grimlock, sound the alarms! Get the guards down here! We'll take them all if we have to!"

Calm as can be, the machine hybrid stood where he was, his bright red eyes fixated on his master. Grimlock's eyes glowed brighter when he caught wind of the distress in Astroliopa's voice. "I think not…. Astroliopa," Grimlock declared, slowly lowering his arms. Both blades unsheathed from his wrists.

"Grimlock… what are you doing?" Astroliopa took on a guarded stance when he saw the way Grimlock stared at him like a statue.

"Don't talk to me like I'm your damn pet, Astroliopa!" Grimlock snapped, "I remember everything from before. But cryo-freezing me did not fix your problem. Thanos helped me remember."

"But you were with me all these years! You were under my control…. There's no way you managed to regain your memories!"

Grimlock chuckled. "I do a good job acting, don't I? Being a cyborg does have its perks. Hiding under a helmet makes it easy to deceive and mislead others. I had you so convinced that I was under your control that I was able to hide under your influence, for five long years. During those years, however, I was learning things. Your weaknesses. Your strengths. What you are. Who you are. Who is close to you. Using all of those things to help build my understanding of my enemy so I can finally finish you. I have Thanos to thank for helping me do this now. My _real, _leader, who allowed me to recall what you did. _What you, have done, _old man." Grimlock pointed a large sharp, metallic finger up at Astroliopa. "All those years ago, when you froze me in that chamber…. and yet, when you had the simplest option to finish me off, you chose to make me your brainwashed slave. Your biggest mistake."

Astroliopa narrowed his eyes deeply at the machine, his stance becoming menacing. "I should've killed you when I had the chance… but I felt it would be easier to let you suffer as a cyborg. As my personal slave. I suppose I made the wrong choice with my mortal enemy."

"And now I will make you suffer for your choice…. by shedding the blood of your family, and all of your creations." Grimlock looked past Astroliopa to Peter, his metallic hands tightening into fists.

"I won't let that happen."

"Oh you may try and prevent the inevitable, old man, I expect nothing different…" Thanos remarked, "but know that this will end the same: You shall die, and so shall your son. You will all be the first to burn under my nation's wrath. You will be remembered as nothing but martyrs when I am finished here. Without you, or the Guardians of the Galaxy in my way, the universe will be mine. And I will find the last of the six orbs, and crush **anyone, **who dares to resist my power."

Astroliopa's eyes began to glow bright purple like Thanos', and his face lost all looks of positive emotion. **"You dare threaten me in my own home, Thanos?! You can rot in the depths of hell if you think I will let you hurt my creations or my son!" **The handle he held ejected into the form of an enormous double bladed trident, which Astroliopa spun around in both hands and readied on Grimlock, even as the Kree around him readied their weapons. **"DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU THREATEN?! I AM A GOD!" **He roared in a deeply inhumane, dark voice, ominously similar to Thanos'.

"Kill Astroliopa, Grimlock, then transport me the orb after you've finished the Guardians. I want the boy to watch his traitorous father and teammates die. Kill him lastly. We have matters to attend to." Thanos then addressed the entire room. "Let these ladies and gentlemen, who you call your 'Guardians' be a warning to you all, and to everyone in this galaxy: I am your supreme leader. If you dare to cross my authority, you shall met with a fate similar to theirs. All resistance will be met with one, and only one punishment: Death."

Without another sound or word, Thanos' projected image disappeared from view.

Peter tensed at the mounting anticipation of this situation. He's eyes were fixated intently on what his father was becoming, knowing the minute the first shot was fired, they were all doomed. Gamora only smiled sadistically at Astroliopa's foolishness, appearing pleased that Grimlock had betrayed him, and that he was about to die, although they were about to go with him in a few seconds.

"We have to do something!" Peter called out to his three teammates.

"Quill, 'Mora, guys, get down!" A familiar raccoon's voice shouted from behind them.

A guard's body from the balconies above slammed against the metal flooring next to Peter lifelessly. He didn't look back, but caught a glimpse of every soldier in the room turning their weapons on the guard that had fallen from above. As soon as this happen, Astroliopa swung his trident into a small line of screaming soldiers, Grimlock struggled to engage him to stop the violence, several gunshots and laser beams rang out…. and another line of soldiers flew across the room, followed by more loud screams.

Preying that this would all work out in the end, Peter followed his teammates example, and ducked his head.


End file.
